Blood Lines
by Cora Sinclair
Summary: The Final Chapter is up and I must say I knew that I would end the story but I didn't think that I would have to end it so soon. Please review and tell what you think. Goodbye...
1. Notes

Author's Note: This is my first Naruto story so please be nice. Starts off with Naruto's POV. **Bold is for Lee's thoughts. **_Italic is for anybody else's thoughts._

"Good job team, be back here tomorrow at 8 a.m." It was a normal day with normal missions for Team 7. Kakashi was always late this time about four hours late, Sasuke who if necessary would actually talk, Sakura giving Sasuke goo-goo eyes, and Naruto complaining about how easy the mission were despite the fact he kept messing up.

"So Sakura-kun want to get a bowl of ramen with me?" said Naruto with a happy smile on his face.

"Sorry Naruto, but I'm going to hang out with Ino and TenTen tonight. Maybe some other night, see ya."

"What about you Sasuke want to go Ichiraku with me?"

"No Naruto, I have to get home."

_Well that's typical; it's too late to ask Iruka sensei. Looks like I'm having ramen by myself again._ As Naruto walked to Ichiraku he began to think of different ways to get Sakura to say yes to a date with him when he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Naruto, what's up."

It was Lee having the Ichiraku special by himself.

"Hey Bushy Brows..."

"What's wrong Naruto?"

"Sakura keeps denying me a date and I don't know what to do about it."

"Don't worry, she denies everybody a date trust me I know."

"You asked her?"

"Tried, she said no before I even said Hi."

"Ouch, crash and burn huh?"

"Yeah, here have a seat I could use the company."

"How did your mission go Bushy Brows?"

"Good, I guess…" said Lee as he played with his chopsticks.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's probably nothing, but I think someone is following me."

"Following you? Brushy Brows come on what are the odds that someone is following you. No offense."

"No taken, it's just a few weeks ago I got home from a mission and my door was completely off its hinges and then one week ago I got back from training and I found a note that says "You will bleed out" and "Your body and blood will be mine very soon" Lee said as he pulled the notes out.

The notes were written in a shiny red ink and when Naruto read them under the lights the words seemed to sparkle like little rubies.

"Wow, that's pretty creepy did you talk to Gai sensei about it."

"No, I didn't."

"But if something is bugging you, I would at least think that Gai would be the first one that you would talk to."

"Yeah, he's been pretty busy and I didn't think that it was worth mentioning."

"Okay, but I think if you better tell Gai sensei if you get another creepy note."

"Okay I will." Said Lee as he stood up and paid his bill. "Night Naruto."

"Bye Lee."

After Lee's conversation with Naruto he walked to his apartment and he thought about what Naruto said. **Naruto is right if these notes are serious and somebody was out to get me, I could be in trouble, but then again who would want me dead or even hurt well maybe Neji if he was mad. But I don't even know anybody outside the village except for grandma Sancho.**

As Lee neared his street he saw his door on the ground **Damn it **Lee effortlessly picked up his door and jumped up to the second story where he lived and saw that his apartment had been trash **the Hell!** "Great just great…"

Lee looked around and saw his living room had been ripped to shreds, his kitchen in the back looked like a rasengan had gone through it, and his bedroom well he wouldn't be able to tell if it was his bedroom beside the fact that the picture with Gai, TenTen, and Neji was on the floor and their faces except Lee's had been blackened out.

While Lee started to clean up his home he heard another window break and felt a shuriken graze his right arm. Lee turned around and saw someone standing on the broken window sill. The figure was tall and a little chubby; he was dressed in a black robe and had a weird scar on his neck in a shape of a dragon.

"Hello Lee-kun, you made me very angry not being here right away."

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name isn't important right now; all that's important is that you come with me now Lee-kun."

Lee tried to punch the man but he felt odd, sluggish.

"What's the matter Lee-kun, not feeling good?"

The man had no problem grabbing Lee by his neck and tossing him out the already broken window and into the street.

**Damn it why can't I move.**

"Oh Lee-kun why won't you come with me peacefully, if the poison from the shuriken doesn't hurt you than I'm afraid I will."

Lee turned around just in time to see the man's fist connect with his face. Lee's body began to feel heavy up to the point where he could barely stand. The man grabbed Lee again and threw him into his apartment's door. This time Lee hit the door and knocked it down, Lee tried to stand up but his legs gave away and he collapsed in the doorway. The man stood above Lee and bent down.

"Tsk, Tsk, Lee-kun what am I going to do with you, oh well goodnight Lee-kun."

And that was the last thing Lee heard before he blacked out.

Author's Note: Please review and let me know what I can improve so far.


	2. Bloody

Author's Note: Sigh, still no reviews oh well on to the Story! Remember **Bold is for Lee's thoughts** and_ Italics is for everybody else thought's._

Team Gai had certain morning routines and those routines always happened. Lee would be at the training field first thing in the morning to do early morning excises with Gai sensei; TenTen would stop at the Hyuga Compound to pick up Neji who would on the way to the training field complain about how painful it was going to be to listen to Gai sensei rant on about youth. Then after an hour of training, Gai with an enthusiastic smile on his face would happily tell them today's mission no matter what it was Gai would make it sound like it was the best thing that ever happened.

But today started different; today TenTen and Neji showed up first and instead of seeing Lee doing 500 thumb-ups they met up with a worried looking Gai.

"Hello Gai sensei." TenTen said expecting a rib crushing hug from her usually jubilant sensei.

"Hello TenTen" said Gai sensei as he paced.

"Is something wrong sensei?"

"Sort of my youthful kunoichi, but it's probably nothing."

"Are you going to tell us Gai sensei?"Said Neji who finally decided to say something.

"Well usually I meet Lee here and help him with his taijutsu but today I haven't been able to find him."

"Maybe he's sick." Said Neji.

"He's right Gai sensei, even Lee can get sick."

"Well then we will go and get him better, Let's GO!"

It didn't take much time for them to reach Lee's apartment and find the apartment completely destroyed. Blood was everywhere; arterial spray had reached the ceiling and was starting to drip. If there was one thing that TenTen shared in common with Lady Tsunade, it was her fear of blood and there was enough blood to make her faint.

"LEE!" TenTen called out

"TenTen go to Lady Hokage now!"

"Yes Gai sensei."

"Neji help me secure the place and wait for the Anbu Black Ops."

"Yes sir."

Meanwhile at the Academy Naruto was once again complaining about how easy the missions were despite the low success rate. That's when TenTen came in with tears in her eyes.

"Lady Hokage we need you!"

"TenTen what's wrong?"

To anybody who knew TenTen knew it must be bad if she was crying.

"It's Lee…he…wasn't at the training…field… so we went to… go get… and there… was so much…blood and the place…was destroyed." She managed to choke out

Needless to say Team 7 and Lady Tsunade rushed to Lee's apartment and saw exactly what TenTen was crying about, Neji was standing next to the door with Gai and was taking deep breaths. Lady Tsunade along with Kakashi and Gai went into Lee's apartment to see if there was any sign that Lee might still be alive. While Lady Tsunade, Kakashi, and Gai looked around the apartment, Naruto asked what happen.

"I don't know, Lee didn't show up for training today and we thought he was just sick and we just found the apartment like this." Said TenTen who had finally calmed down

Naruto's face went pale_ Damn it Bushy Brows, why didn't you tell someone about it._

"Hey Kakashi sensei, I know what happened to Bushy Brows!"

"Naruto shut up this is really not the time to make stupid jokes! This is serious Lee could be dead!" yelled Sakura has she promptly punched him.

"But Sakura I really do know what happened to Brushy Brows, here look." Said Naruto while he pulled out the notes that Lee had shown him from the night before

Sakura looked for the notes "Naruto why didn't you tell somebody before?!"

"Hey I just found out about it last night, besides Bushy Brows said it wasn't that big of a deal."

"Naruto Lee's apartment is bloody and destroyed and you don't think that these notes that say "you will bleed out" and "your body and blood will be mine very soon." Aren't a big deal?"

"Well Sasuke when you say it like that you make it sound very serious."

"Ugh, Naruto I swear to Kami that you can be so oblivious, Kakashi sensei!"

"What is it Sasuke?"

"Look at these notes that Naruto forgot to mention."

"Good job Sasuke, this should be very helpful." Said Kakashi who was happy that at least Sasuke thought this was important.

"You should thank Sakura too, without her I wouldn't have noticed the notes."

"Excellent job Sakura, nice to see you guys are looking for clues like real shinobi."

"Oh, thank you Kakashi sensei." Said Sakura who was happy to receive a compliment from her sensei

"Sensei's pet." Grumbled Naruto;_ Stupid Sasuke, Lee showed me the notes first I should get some credit._

Lady Tsunade along with Gai and Kakashi finished what was left of Lee's apartment.

"Neji, can you use your Byakugan to see Lee's chakra signature."

"Hold on…Byakugan!"

"Hey Neji, do you have to yell out Byakugan before you use it?" yelled Naruto

"Naruto shut up Neji needs to concentrate." Said Sakura as she bopped Naruto on his head

After 5 minutes of looking for Lee's chakra signature Neji gave up.

"Damn it, I practically look at Lee's chakra everyday why can't I see it now?!"

"Neji how far can your Byakugan go?" asked Lady Tsunade

"About 25 miles and I still can't see his signature."

"Then it's safe to assume whoever did this has or is taking Lee out of the Land of Fire."

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is so short but I will make the next chapter even longer.


	3. Flaming corpse

Author's Note: I got 2 reviews! Thank you hiddenlotuslee for reviewing and this might become a yaoi depending on how far I'm willing to take this. But please just remember one thing yaoi makes the world go round!** Bold is for Lee's thoughts **and _Italics is for everyone else thoughts._

Across the Land of Fire, close to the border, a ninja dashed through the tree tops desperate to reach his checkpoint before he got caught by the hidden leaf ninja. _Damn it, why does she need a kid who can actually fight. _The ninja finally reached a small fort near Final Valley, where two other ninja waited. One had a mesh t-shirt and black pants with a tattoo of a dragon above his eye, another a kunoichi was sitting on a chair throwing kunai knives at a dart board wearing shorts and long sleeves.

"You're late." Said the shinobi wearing the mesh

"Well sorry but I didn't expect the kid to put up such a fight." Said the shinobi while putting Lee (who was still unconscious, due to the poison from earlier) on a cot

"Hmp, you didn't expect him to put up a fight? Did you think that he was just going to come with you like that?" Said the kunoichi while snapping her fingers

"Shut up both of you." Said the shinobi wearing the mesh t-shirt

**My head… what's going on?**

"Crap the kid's waking up, I thought you poisoned him!" said the kunoichi

"I did Kira so shut up!" Said the ninja with the dragon tattoo

**Kira? Damn…**

"Don't tell me to shut up Kaito!" yelled Kira

The mesh ninja walked over to Lee with a syringe filled with poison and injected it into Lee.

**Kaito…Kira…can't keep awake…**

"Kaito, Kira shut up and listen to me!" yelled the ninja that hadn't been named

"The Hidden Leaf ninja are probably going to send a team out to find the kid, so we are going to move fast if we want to avoid getting caught got it?" Said the mesh ninja

"Get it." Said both Kaito and Kira

"Good, if we leave now we should make it to the destination within five hours, but before we go Kaito give me the kid's headband and legwarmers."

"Here you go, what are you going to do with it Ryuu?" said Kaito

"When we leave we are going to torch this place and since it is safe to assume that the hidden Leaf ninja will be using ninja hounds to follow the kid's scent we're going to leave a fake corpse with the kid's headband and legwarmers on it."

"What if they see through it Ryuu?" said Kira

"Doesn't matter, even if they do figure out that the corpse is a fake the real kid will be dead by then." Said Ryuu

"Okay enough explaining, let's go already." Said Kaito

Five minutes later and half a burned Kaito

"I told you not to use all that lighter fluid, just using a fireball jutsu would have been fine." Said Ryuu as he held his nose so he wouldn't smell burnt Kaito

"Shut up…"

Meanwhile back at the Hidden Leaf Village Team Gai and Team 7 were getting ready to leave the village and go find Lee.

"Bushier Brows sensei is there anything with Lee's scent on it?" said Naruto while stretching

"Yeah Lee's has two pairs of legwarmers, why?" asked Gai

"Well why doesn't Kakashi sensei summon one of his ninja hounds to sniff Lee's legwarmers so we can find Lee faster?" said Naruto

"Wow, Naruto that's actually a pretty smart idea…" said Sakura who looked freaked out that Naruto had thought out a way to find Lee

"Really, you think so? Does this mean you'll go out with me?" said Naruto as he happily thought of sweeping Sakura off her feet and Sasuke getting jealous

"Sorry no."

"Enough chit-chat, Gai is you're team ready?" said Kakashi who magically poofed from where ever he poofs out from

"Ready Kakashi, let's go!"

After three hours of having leaped through the tree tops Teams Gai and 7 decided to take a short break before continuing. Naruto had challenged Sasuke to a leaf counting contest, and Sasuke was winning. Neji and Sakura were eating their rice balls, while TenTen was sitting on a tree branch while eating dumplings and using the used dumplings sticks to make the Hidden Leaf symbol. Kakashi and Gai were talking about how much longer they should follow Lee's scent when Naruto yelled out "Hey Kakashi sensei there's black smoke coming from Final Valley!"

"It's probably nothing Naruto." Replied Kakashi as he didn't even bother to look up from the map he was staring out.

"Kakashi look at the smoke for a minute, look how big and how dark that is, I don't think it's a controlled burn." Said Gai

"You're right, Sasuke you're in charge while Gai and I go see what's burning. Come on Pakkun"

"Yes Kakashi sensei." Everyone said in unison

As Gai and Kakashi walked to the burning fort, Pakkun's ears perked up

"Hey Kakashi"

"What is it Pakkun?"

"That kid's scent we're following is near."

"What? You mean Lee's is near-by?" said Gai who finally started to look relieved

Sniff, Sniff "he's in a fort close."

Only one thought shot into Gai's mind as he and Kakashi neared whatever was burning that Lee was in the fort and he was dying from either choking on the air or he was burning in the flames.

_Don't be in the fort; please be somewhere else anywhere else beside the fort._

The fort was already engulfed in flames when Gai and Kakashi got to it. Gai broke down the door and Kakashi used Water Dragon Jutsu. Two minutes went by before Gai came running out with something as the fire was slowly burning out, Kakashi walked to Gai to see what he ran out with. Immediately Kakashi knew what Gai had run out with a corpse, Lee's burnt corpse.

Author's Note: Oh my God a cliffhanger like nobody has done that before, I will update soon.


	4. Regrets

Author's Note: (sigh) still no new reviews and everybody thinks Lee iccccs dead; it's a bad day for everyone. **Bold is for Lee's thoughts** and _Italic's is for everyone else's thoughts._

The silence between Gai and Kakashi said it all; Lee was dead and they were too late; too damn late. Kakashi knowing the pain of losing someone very dear knew he couldn't say anything to Gai that would make him feel better instead he said "Come on Gai we should probably bury him before the kids see him." Gai didn't responded, he only stood upon the thing that was once his beloved student. "Gai are you okay?""Uh yeah, Kakashi come on let's just do this quick."

Meanwhile back at the base with Naruto and the other ninjas

"Hmm I wonder what Kakashi and Gai sensei are doing?" said Sakura

"Maybe they ditched us for some super cool mission!" yelled Naruto

"Ugh, Naruto what do you think is going on here? Lee, are you still with me; is missing and this is Gai sensei is Lee's sensei who loves him like he was his own son and do you honestly think that for one minute that they would go off and do something else!" screamed TenTen as her hair came undone revealing very long brunette hair "Sorry…I just… It's just very difficult to work without Lee…"

"Wow TenTen I never knew you could be so scary…" said Neji as he slowly recovered himself from TenTen's sudden outburst

"Sorry I just miss Lee." TenTen once again repeated

"TenTen, you of all people should know that Lee isn't the type to just give up without fight, you and I both know that even if Lee was bloody and injured or even on the verge of dying he would crawl back to the village just for morning training."

"You're right; I should calm down Lee will be okay"

Gai and Kakashi finally appeared after walking from Lee's freshly dug grave

"Hey Kakashi sensei are you and Gai sensei ready to go, we should probably get in three more miles before getting ready to set up camp." Said Neji

Gai and Kakashi gave each other a glance to see who would tell them, Kakashi decided to tell them

"Team we are going back to the village."

"But Kakashi, Gai sensei what about Lee?" said TenTen

Sigh "Kids, I'm sorry to inform that we found Lee."

"So where is he?" said Naruto starting to get impatient

A thought slowly dawned on TenTen, that Lee was dead

"Gai sensei, is Lee dead?" said TenTen while shaking

"Yes, TenTen…"

The news shook everybody very hard, especially Naruto. As they walked back to the village Naruto started to think about how he could have stopped Lee from dying

_This is all my fault, I killed Lee; why the hell didn't I tell somebody? I should've walked to Lee's apartment with him, Oh God why did I just let him walk off; what the hell is wrong with me?_

Naruto became so engrossed with his thoughts he didn't noticed that they were in front of the village gates and walking towards Lady Tsunade's office. Despite everything that had happened, Naruto thought that the person to receive the hardest blow from Lee's death was Gai. During the walk back (they saw no need to exhaust themselves out by running back to the village) Gai had remain silent walking in a zombie like state not saying anything about Lee's death, Naruto thought that him of all people would be crying but no tears fell.

Teams Gai and Kakashi finally made it back to Lady Tsunade's office after trying to decide whether to tell her now how the mission failed or in the morning, since the sun was starting to set.

"Kids we'll tell her, okay?" said Kakashi who finally said something after three hours

Gai and Kakashi walked into Lady Tsunade's office and saw that she was happily drinking her sake while she had a moment away from Shizune.

"Ah Gai, Kakashi how did the mission go? Is Lee alright?"

"Ah milady I'm sorry to report that we failed the mission and that Lee is dead." Said Gai trying his best not to remember that corpse that once had been Lee

"What happened?" yelled Tsunade, she didn't mean to raise her voice at them but she thought that this was just a simple kidnapped and rescue mission not something that would result in death

"We're resting in a forest near Final Valley when Naruto noticed smoke, Gai and I investigated and found that the smoke was coming from a fort which was on fire and Gai ran in brought Lee's burnt body out, then we decided to bury him before the kids saw what had happened." Said Kakashi who sounded weary

Lady Tsunade looked solemn and talked in with a quiet voice "Gai, I'll understand if you or any members of your or Kakashi team wish to take a few days off."

'"Thank you Lady Hokage, I'll be sure to tell them tomorrow."

"Oh and Gai obviously this was murder and I'll need a capable jonin to handle the matter, will you take the lead? That is if you want to…"

"Yes Lady Hokage"

The meeting ended on those words, as Gai and Kakashi walked out they saw their teams were still in there. Kakashi and Gai told them that Lee's death would be investigated and that they had a few days to get over his death. As Naruto walked home, his mind replayed the conversation he had with Lee from the night before.

"_How did your mission go Bushy Brows?"_

"_Good, I guess…" _

"_What's wrong with you?"_

"_It's probably nothing, but I think someone is following me."_

"_Following you? Brushy Brows come on what are the odds that someone is following __you.__ No offense."_

"_No taken, it's just a few weeks ago I got home from a mission and my door was completely off its hinges and then one week ago I got back from training and I found a note that says "You will bleed out" and "Your body and blood will be mine very soon" _

"_Wow, that's pretty creepy did you talk to Gai sensei about it."_

"_No, I didn't."_

"_But if something is bugging you, I would at least think that Gai would be the first one that you would talk to."_

"_Yeah, he's been pretty busy and I didn't think that it was worth mentioning."_

"_Okay, but I think if you better tell Gai sensei if you get another creepy note."_

"_Okay I will night Naruto."_

"_Bye Lee."_

As Naruto walked he found himself standing outside Lee's apartment, it looked weird all the crime scene tape over the entrance way. Naruto couldn't stand to be there, he felt his skin crawl as the wind made the tape blow, finally the usually hyper-active ninja made it to his home. Naruto kicked off his greaves and landed on his bed, before he fell asleep he saw that the sun was setting in a gorgeous blood red that seem to mimic the notes that Lee had shown him and that was the last thing Naruto thought about before he fell asleep.

Author's Note: Yeah I know sucky chapter, but I'm not very good at showing deep thought or emotion. But I thought that I really got it with Naruto's POV, but then again I suck at emotion. Let me know what I can improve, like speech patterns and stuff. Please review, I need it.


	5. Transaction

Author's Note: I have no new reviews, (sigh) I feel like crying. Will someone for the love of Miso Ramen please review!

Somewhere far away from the Land of Fire, near the edge of a forest an old woman and three tall men probably bodyguards were waiting impatiently waiting for someone.

"Where on earth are those shinobi?" said the old woman who looked ill.

"Empress Michiko, please calm yourself." Said one of the bodyguards

"Shut-up you, I don't need to be told what to do by the likes of you."

"Uh, yes Empress Michiko…" the three said in unison

Suddenly three ninja came out of the treetops and landed skillfully in front of the woman named Empress Michiko.

"You're late." Said Empress Michiko

"Sorry, Empress but the kid was more trouble than we originally thought he would be." Said Kaito handing Lee to one of the bodyguards

"I see, well is the body ready for draining?" said Empress Michiko

"Sadly Empress, we had to give him another dose of poison." Said Ryuu

"What!? But then the body can't begin draining for seven more days!" screeched Empress Michiko

"Again sorry, but would you rather have a body you can't drain or a body with hardly any blood left?" said Ryuu who began to lose his patience

"Fine, here's your pay as agreed upon."

"Thank you Empress"

"Oh before I forget, as usual Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito if you even speak of this transaction to anybody I will send the top assassination ninja after you."

"Oh Empress we wouldn't have it any other way." Said Ryuu giving one of his clever little smiles

"Alright, now be gone."

"Yes Empress." Said the three shinobi as they disappeared

"Sigh, Guards take the body in to dungeon and hook him up."

"Yes Empress"

The Empress and the guards slowly walked to a castle which the moon seemed to bathe in a beautiful pale white light, while Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito went back to the main village to wait for their next mission.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter is really short but the next chapter will be longer, please review!


	6. Nice to meet you, Princess

Author's Note: Four reviews, Thank you! Hiddenlotuslee this is chapter is for you! This chapter will start on a two month time skip, and as always **Lee's thoughts are bold** and _everyone else's is Italics._

A week after Lee's body had been found and buried, the trail for whoever had kidnapped and ultimately killed him went cold. No witnesses, no leads, Gai almost went half mad trying to figure out who had killed Lee but after three weeks of searching for the ninja who did it Lady Tsunade pulled the plug on the operation. A day after the three week mark Lady Tsunade came and said that she needed Gai and what was left of his team to perform missions for the village, in Gai's heart he knew that he should move on, it was on that same day that Gai stopped going to Lee's grave in the village.

After Lady Tsunade told Gai to stop and go on missions he changed, Gai no longer laughed or smiled. At least when Gai visited Lee's grave with TenTen and Neji, he gave a little laugh or smile when he told Lee that everyone and the village was doing fine. While Neji thought that Gai acting so serious was a blessing in disguise, he had finally gotten the sensei he had always wanted; hell Gai had even ditched the green jumpsuit, cut his hair and plucked his eyebrows! Gai no longer ranted about youth nor did he challenge Kakashi to fights, he was a different man altogether. TenTen found herself sinking into depression until she found herself sitting on the old log trunk that Lee used to spend hours hitting, she started to take up Lee's habit, remembering memories she and Lee had once shared. The news that Lee's murder case had been closed due to no new leads ate away at Naruto, every night he kept replaying the conversation he had with Lee trying to figure out if there was some way that he maybe he could've prevented it.

Meanwhile far away in the land of Clouds the sounds of objects being thrown throughout the Empress's castle could be heard down to the main village.

"Damn that Ryuu!" screamed the Empress Michiko while grabbing an expensive vase and hurling it clear across the throne room; even as an old woman (age of 95 or higher, no one is quite sure anymore) Empress Michiko still retains her godlike strength

"You majesty, please calm down it isn't worth it to get all worked up over Ryuu!" said Empress's Michiko's head advisor, Kumo Iemura. Kumo gave off the look of a spider, an evil egomaniacal spider.

"It's not just Ryuu, it's everything and everyone."

"What's the matter Empress?" asked Kumo

"Koto…"

"Your granddaughter?" replied Kumo

"Yes, she's been in her room for two days, grieving about her parents and worrying over the kingdom." Said Empress Michiko who looked sullen

"Ah yes, Kari and Tai that was tragic, but why is Koto worrying about the kingdom?"

"She knows that I'm sick, that I'll soon be dead and that she'll have to take over now that her parents are gone." Michiko looked over to Kumo with heavy eyes "You know every night I walk past her room like I used to when she was little and instead of hearing a little laugh or giggle, now I hear her crying, gasping for air while she cries for her mom and dad. Last night was hard, I heard her praying to the gods to let me live just for a few more years."

The Empress started to cough and hack up blood on her kimono

"Your Highness, do you need another pint?" said Kumo who looked worried at the sight of blood

"No… (wheeze)…I can't drink again…not…so soon...the body might…die." Empress Michiko gasped; she could feel her illness ravaging her body. _Please Kami I can't die, not while Koto is so young!_

"Your highness please!" said Kumo

"Alright fine, one more pint." Said Empress Michiko who seemed to recover from her sudden coughing bout

As Empress Michiko and Kumo walked down a flight of stairs, they remained oblivious to the young girl following them. The young girl was named Koto Namegawa, Empress Michiko's only granddaughter and sole heir to the throne.

_Where are they going?_

For the past two months whenever her grandmother had looked severely sick or started to hack up blood, her grandmother and Kumo would go off somewhere in the castle for thirty minutes to an hour and then she and Kumo would come back with herself looking much better. As the Empress and Kumo walked Koto saw Kumo place his hand on a brick, the wall parted to reveal a hidden staircase.

_Hmm, a little clichéd don't you think? I better hang back a bit._

While she let her grandmother and Kumo gain some distance from her, Koto began to wonder why her grandmother needed all theseprecautions, what could be so important to hide from her?

Then she saw why, a boy, he couldn't be much older than herself; he was hanging upside down from the ceiling, with an I.V tube going through his neck pumping a light red liquid and on the right side of his neck a dark red liquid was being pumped out, his blood.

Koto pressed herself closer to the wall she was leaning on and rubbed the necklace that her mother had given her, over and over. She couldn't understand why her grandmother was doing this.

"What the hell is grandmother doing? I need to get out of here…" said Koto just barely above a whisper

Before she could leave the scene of horror that she had just witness she heard Kumo speak.

"Please accept the apologizes of Empress Michiko of the Land of Clouds." The boy opened an eye, he looked in pain.

"Boy or ninja whoever you may be, please don't feel anger towards this old woman, but please acknowledge that your blood in required for my survival."

The gasped in pain and said "Why…me?"

"You see your clan has a rare blood type that can keep certain sicknesses at bay."

The boy gasped in pain again "You could've asked…"

This time Kumo answered "Idiotic child, it's not as simple as a blood donation, the Empress needs a continuous supply of your clan's blood and seeing as you're the last of your clan…" but before Kumo could finish the boy interrupted.

"Why are you doing this?"

The Empress's expression softened "Again it's nothing against you, but I need to stay alive for my granddaughter's sake. For you see child, Koto my granddaughter, her mother and father died just a few weeks ago. I've been sick for a very long time; if I died so suddenly and left Koto in charge of our land it would destroy her mentally and physically. So if I must commit kidnap and eventually murder to secure her future so be it, but please remember that I only need to wait unit her fifteenth birthday for her to take over the throne. In a week's time when she turns fifteen you and I will die peacefully.

The boy managed to say his next sentence "Gai…sensei…or the…hidden…Leaf…ninja, will…come."

The Empress couldn't face the boy, so she let Kumo answer "Not likely, for you see the ninja we have hired to secure you, were smart enough to anticipate such a rescue. To make sure they used a fake corpse to fool anyone to ensure you would remain here for the time being.

Koto couldn't take it anymore, the thought that her grandmother and Kumo were doing this to something like was too much to take; she ran to her bedroom and locked her door. She didn't come until late at the next night.

Somewhere in the castle Koto heard a clock strike twelve, she made her move. Her usual kimono was replaced with shorts and a tank top. After Koto heard what her grandmother and Kumo were going to do to that boy, she couldn't take it. It didn't matter that they were doing it for her sake; the thought scared her that they were doing this just so she could run the kingdom. Truth be told Koto could care less about running the kingdom she rather study medical jutsu instead of studying laws. She began to think that her grandmother and Kumo were going insane. Koto pressed herself closer to a wall she was leaning on and then fell down the hidden staircase that she forgot that was there. She picked herself up before anyone saw her and then she silently began to make her way to the boy.

The boy saw her and began to worry **Oh God, please not another one.**

"Um hello…" said Koto

"Hi what's your name?" said the boy despite the fact it looked painful to talk.

"My name is Koto."

"Oh so you're the reason why I'm here…" said the boy jokingly

"Listen um, boy… I'm-"Koto was interrupted by the boy

"Lee…"

"Hmm?"

"My name is Rock Lee, but everyone I know calls me Lee." said Lee giving one of his sparkling smiles.

"Oh…" Koto felt herself blushing either because she didn't bother to ask Lee's his name or because Lee was kinda cute.

"Well Princess Koto, it's a pleasure to meet you but I wish that we could've met under different circumstances."

"Y-yeah…" _Damn it, I why am I blushing so hard?_

"Um, Princess Koto could you-"This time Koto interrupted Lee

"It's just Koto; I don't like being called princess…"

"Okay just Koto, I'd hate to asked but in three days can you please get me out of here?" said Lee

"Three days? Why can't I get you out tonight?" said a bewildered Koto wondering why anyone would want to spend another three days in hell like state

"Because I'm too weak and I have lost too much blood to make it back to my village alive. Come back in three days and I'll be able to get out of here."

"Okay but Lee, you have to make me a promise." Said Koto with a serious look on her face

"Sure, what is it?"

"Please take me with you!" said Koto

"Huh?" Lee was confused

"I can't live here knowing that my grandmother tried to kill someone. Please take me with you." Said Koto

"I don't think that taking you with me is a good idea…"

"Fine then it looks like you're stuck here." Said Koto pouting

"Okay, okay I'll take you with me." Said Lee

"Alright Lee, guess I'll see you in three days…Bye" said Koto as she slowly walked away

"Good-bye Koto."

As Koto walked back to her room she couldn't help but think of Lee, the way he smiled even though he was chained and dying made Koto thought _Wow what an optimistic guy_.

Author's Note: I started to type this at two thirty and I'll probably update later today.


	7. SLEEP!

Author's Note: I'm having trouble uploading my story files. So it might be a while before I can update again. Please review and tell me what I can improve on.

The three days that Koto had to wait to see Lee again felt like an eternity. Every time she thought of Lee she felt herself starting to blush, which she was getting pretty tired of. It's not that she didn't like Lee but the fact that he didn't mind being there in the cell dying.

Meanwhile at the dungeon Lee was swinging from side to side, bored and trying to figure out how fast he and Koto would have to move in order to get to the hidden Leaf before either they got caught or Lee passed out from blood loss.

**Maybe if we left at midnight, then we could probably make it in one or two days. But then do we really have time to rest? Then again if we just take it easy we could make it in three or five days. I miss my home.**

On the third day, Koto had packed up everything up that was necessary for a long journey. Only one thing kept bugging her should she or shouldn't she bring her medical jutsu books. Those were the only thing that held any meaning to her besides the necklace that her mother had given her.

Finally night came and everyone was asleep, Koto maneuvered skillfully throughout the castle not making a sound. Soon she was in the dungeon looking upon the sleeping face on Lee.

"Lee-kun please wake up."

Ever since Koto was little she would spend most of her time and days, studying to one day take over the throne which didn't exactly leave a lot of time for her to go out and make friends. Even when she did get an hour to herself to go out and play none of the other kids would play with her, fearing a death sentence if she got hurt. For the longest time Koto had been alone and was prepared to be alone until she met Lee, her heart started to race when he spoke, looked, or even smiled at her.

"Oh hello Koto" said Lee yawning

Koto jumped skillfully on to the chain that bound Lee to the ceiling and started to saw the chain.

"Hey Lee I gotta ask, you're being drained of your blood, you're been in this hell-hole away from home for two months and you don't seem to be angry at all."

"Well, I guess all the synthetic blood is really screwing up my mind. But it's-"Lee sentence got cut off as the chain broke.

"Oww." Lee rubbed his head and began to stretch.

"You okay?"

"Fine…" Lee started to lose his balance and almost fell but Koto caught him

"Um Lee maybe you should get a little sleep in my room, before we go."

"Okay fine…" said Lee starting to lose his balance again

Koto carried Lee to her room and put him on the bed while she went into a different room.

Lee barely registered what was happening all he knew was that he in a nice warm room and he was going to sleep.

Author's Note: I have not slept in 12 hours; I looked in my mirror and I thought I was Garra… YAY SLEEP DEVRIVATION!


	8. Curry of Life

Author's Note: A new month means new reviews! Please review for the love of Miso Ramen

Lee woke up with a sudden start. He dreamt of the past two hellish months, it was almost creepy to think that just a few hours he was slowly dying. He decided to look around the bedroom when he found a note on a pile on a neatly folded pile of clothes.

"Dear Lee,  
I'm really sorry about what happened and I promise to make it up to you. By the way I noticed that your clothes were pretty much gone so I made you some new ones. I hope they fit!

P.S. we leave at three a.m. -Koto X3"

Lee grabbed the shirt and pants and went into the bathroom. Five minutes later Lee came out wearing his new clothes. The shirt was a long white sleeve with black buttons going across, the pants were plain black but very nice. Lee noticed the clock read two fifty-five.

"You look pretty good." Said Koto who suddenly appeared

"Koto!" said Lee as he felt the blood rush to his face

"Are you ready to go?" said Koto with a mischievous smile on her face

"Yeah let's go…"

"Oh wait Lee." Koto pulled out a brush and pulled Lee's hair back

"Um, Koto why did you brush my hair?"

"Easy we don't want anybody to recognize you if the ninja who kidnapped you come back again. I doubt your own sensei would recognize you."

It was true, Lee did look different with his new clothes and his hair brushed back, he doubt Gai could recognize him. (I know that Lee or Gai getting a makeover has been to death, but please give me a break."

"Okay let's go!" said Lee

Lee couldn't help looking at Koto; the kimono she was wearing last night had been replaced by priestess pant legs in black and she was wearing a black tank top.

Koto and Lee quietly snuck out of the castle, and around five they had made a very good start when Lee brought up a thought.

"Koto, why are you helping me?"

"Because…"

"Gai sensei says because is not an answer."

"Guess, because I feel sorry for putting you in this situation."

"So um Koto I was kinda wondering about what your grandmother said about the ninja who kidnapped me…"

"Did they make sure that your friends would think that you're dead? Probably, when grandmother was young she had a streak for being very deceitful."

"Great…" Lee sighed as he helped Koto up a steep hill.

The walk back to the village was uncomfortable not the fact that Koto didn't know what to talk about with Lee. But earlier during the walk back.

~(Flashback)~

"Wow Lee, look at this view!" said Koto standing on shaky ground.

"Yeah it's beautiful Koto, but you should really stay away from there."

"Why?" asked Koto as Lee approached her while putting his hand on her shoulder and pointed out why

"See the ground here has had some serious erosion and if enough weight comes on here, it could-"Lee sentence was cut short as the ground did give way and sent Lee and Koto falling down a steep hill until Lee landed on the bottom, he tried to get up but then Koto landed on him in a very…unique position.

Him lying on the grass, holding her hands as she lied on him while their lips met.

"Um Koto…um" Lee was feeling a tidal wave of emotions; excitement because he had just kissed a very beautiful girl, embarrassment because he didn't know how to deal with it, and fear because he had just kissed a girl whose grandmother was trying to kill him.

Neither Koto nor Lee broke their gaze until they heard an old man and woman saying "Young Love" and "Do you remember when we were like that?" This made Koto and Lee yell out "It's not like that!"

~(End of Flashback)~

Koto finally was able to look at Lee after she stopped blushing; she saw that he was starting to pant and lag.

"Hey Lee you okay? You want to take a rest?" said Koto worrying about Lee fainting on her

"I'm…fine" said Lee who vision was starting to wane

The two kept walking until Koto smelled something.

"Hey Lee do you smell that?"

Lee lifted his head and smell the air, suddenly his eyes grew large. "CURRY!" Lee grabbed Koto's arm and rushed towards the smell.

"Lee! Where are we going?" yelled Koto as Lee pulled arm

"There's this curry shop that Gai sensei and I once visited during a marathon run, and the curry saved my life once it's amazing! Plus my grandma Sancho and Karashi live there so it'll be good to see them again after my absence!" said Lee who looked happier than before

"Alright!" said Koto as she picked up the speed and raced Lee to a small house

As the two reached the curry shop they found it closed

"What? It's never been closed before!" said Lee who began to look crestfallen

"Hey Lee what does Grandma Sancho and Karashi look like?" said Koto

"Um, Grandma Sancho is short, about to my waist with white hair and black glasses. Karashi has brown hair that's usually up in a ponytail and maybe a foot taller than me, why?" said Lee as wondered why Koto would ask such an unusual question

"Cause their right over that hill…" said Koto pointing them out like it was the most obvious thing in the world

"YAY! Curry for all!" said Lee ecstatically as Grandma Sancho and Karashi came closer to the curry shop

As Grandma Sancho and Karashi came closer to the shop Lee and Koto saw that they were dressed in funeral attire.

"Oh hello, can we help you?"Said Grandma Sancho as she saw Lee and Koto standing outside the curry shop.

"Yes actually, see my friend here was ninja-napped from the Hidden Leaf Village and we're trying to find our way back." Said Koto in her best "we're two lost kids, help us" voice

"Well isn't that something my son and I just came back from the hidden leaf."

"Why?" said Lee even though he had a pretty good idea why

"Well you see, a dear friend of ours was found dead and we decided to go to his funeral."

"For two months?"

"Our friend's sensei had become depressed over his student's death so we stuck around to make sure he wouldn't…" Grandma Sancho sentence trailed off; probably not wanting to say what she thought he might do

"K-kill himself…" said Lee as his face lost all of its color

"Koto we got to get back now!" said Lee completely forgetting that Grandma Sancho and Karashi were standing there.

"Okay Lee we will!" said Koto as she lovingly messed up Lee's hair which went back to it natural bobbed style

"Lee!" said Grandma Sancho dropped her bags on Karashi's foot

"Oh, you're not dead!" yelled Grandma as she grabbed him in a tight hug

Author's Note: I'm going to leave this chapter like this I might update on Saturday. Please review


	9. Better be dead

Author's Note: Yay for reviews! **Bold is for Lee's thoughts** and _Italics is for everyone else's thoughts_

Lee gasped for air as Grandma Sancho's hug got tighter by the second.

"Lee, oh I am so happy you're alive!" yelled Grandma Sancho

"Air…I…need AIR!" said Lee as his face started to become a lovely shade of purple

"Oh, sorry Lee! But I can't help it when we received word you had died, oh it was horrible." said Grandma Sancho as she released him

"Mother I don't think that this kid is Lee." Said Karashi who finally decided to say something after studying this kid

"What makes you say that Karashi?" said Grandma Sancho

"The Lee I know would never wear anything but a green jumpsuit and orange legwarmers plus Lee always does the good guy pose, and if this kid is really Lee then were has he been for the last two months, and who is that girl!" yelled a panting Karashi while pointing at Koto

"Uh, I'm princess Koto Namegawa of the Land of the Clouds, daughter of the late Queen Kari and King Tai." Said Koto giving them her best curtsy

"A princess!" said Grandma Sancho

"I don't believe her, who do we know she's a princess?" said Karashi

"I have the royal birthmark idiot." Said Koto who didn't like her lineage questioned

"Show us!" said Karashi

"No way!" yelled Koto

"Why not?" asked Lee

"Cause it's on my breast and I'm not gonna flash it to some horny little birthmark questioning idiot!" yelled Koto

The silence following Koto's outburst was deafening, but thankfully Lee spoke up.

"Why not have Grandma Sancho look at it?"

"Fine…" said Koto grudgingly

After a few minutes Grandma Sancho and Koto emerged from the curry shop

"It's true, she does have the royal birthmark." Said Grandma Sancho

Lee started to laugh at Karashi "You got yelled at by a princess!"

"Fine so she's a princess, but about this kid?" said Karashi

"You want proof, then give me a minute." Said Lee

Lee walked back from everyone gave them the good guy pose and said "Enjoy your youth!" while a beautiful sunset and waves appeared in the back ground

"Yep that's Lee alright." Said Grandma Sancho happy with the results

"How do you do that?" said Koto still wondering where the sunset and waves came from

"I don't know…" said Lee

"Okay so have we proven to you guys that we are Koto and Lee?" said Lee

"Yes, sorry I doubted you, but your "Death" was hard to take." Said Karashi who looked sullen

"By the way where were you? I mean we were told that the Anbu Black-Ops couldn't find you." Said Karashi

"Actually I don't really remember what happened except that Koto's grandmother trying to drain me of my blood, so that's really where I've been for the past two months…"

"Wait she tried to what?" asked Grandma Sancho

"Lee, I've always respected you but you're traveling with a girl whose grandmother is trying to kill you." Yelled Karashi while grabbing Lee's shoulder's and shaking him

"Well actually I can understand her trying to kill me." Said Lee

"You What!?" yelled Karashi

"Well if someone you loved was in danger of dying wouldn't you try to stop them from dying?" explained Lee

"Shut-up" muttered Karashi

"Um Lee speaking of which shouldn't we be getting back to our little walk back to your Village before your sensei decides to Ack!" said Koto while making various suicide attempt like motions, like the slashing of the firsts, hanging, and a kunai knife to the neck

Lee gasped "Gai sensei, come on Koto we got to go! Bye Karashi, Bye Grandma Sancho it was nice to see you again!"

Lee grabbed Koto by her arm and rushed off in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village

Meanwhile back at the castle, Kumo was receiving his daily chores and berating from Empress Michiko.

"…and make sure the flowers for Koto's birthday a red not pink this time. Oh and Kumo before I forget please go and wake Koto up she has slept in for three hours now!"

"Yes Empress Michiko, should I feed the body?" said Kumo referring to Lee

"That's right it's been three days since I last drank, that blood does do wonders. Maybe I'll keep him alive just a little longer." Said Empress Michiko while licking her lips in a Orochimaru like manner

"Whatever you desire your Majesty. Whatever you desire…"

_Soon I won't have to take orders from you, you old hag_

Kumo walked briskly towards Koto's room

"Princess Koto, please get up now, the Empress commands it!"

Silence

"Princess? I'm coming in…" said Kumo

Kumo walked in to Koto's bedroom and saw that she wasn't there

_Where the hell…_

Kumo rushed down to the dungeon hoping to see the body still there; he wasn't

_Well this is going to mess my plans up unless…_

Sighing Kumo picked up a chair near him and practiced his baseball swing on Koto's room, thoroughly destroying it before he ruffled up his hair, dirtied up himself and made it seem like he was sweating before charging into the main throne room where Empress Michiko was.

"Empress! Empress Michiko!"

"Kumo what is it?" asked Empress Michiko

"It's…horrible, the…body…is gone and I think….he …took Koto with him."

"What!"

"The boy he must have taken her!" cried Kumo

"Kumo I want you to contact Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito tell them that if they bring the boy back, dead or alive, they're reward will be ten times the amount I paid them last time." Said Empress Michiko shaking

"Yes Empress Michiko."

The run to the main village only took Kumo a few minutes

"Ryuu, Kira, Kaito Empress Michiko has a special mission for you."

"Not interested." Said Ryuu lazily throwing darts

"She'll pay you ten times your last pay day."

"Fine." Said a passive Ryuu

"Oh and Ryuu, there will also be an additional mission too."

"And what would that additional mission be?"

"I what you to make sure that the boy and Koto don't come back alive." Said Kumo, his voice filled with coldness

"So you're out for blood."

"More like out for the throne."

"So Kumo, we kill them for you and assuming that you kill the Empress later on what will happen once you take over."

"Ah Ryuu, you shouldn't worry about that just worry about what will happen if Koto and the boy aren't dead."

"Fine Kumo it's your buck, just don't forget to pay us."

Author's Note: I'm actually updating on time! Please review


	10. Makeout

Author's Note: I have never been so motivated to finish a story before. And as usual Lee's thoughts are Bold and everyone else's is Italics.

"Hey Lee how much farther do we have to walk before we reached your Village?" asked Koto

"Well I was hoping to be able to make it before the sunset, but that's not gonna happen." Said Lee sighing

"So what do you want to do?" asked Koto

"I dunno, maybe there's a town near here or something, can you check the map?" Said Lee

"Sure, uh yeah Lee there's this little town near here." Said Koto putting away the map

Lee and Koto found the town, it was pretty small but it had some charm to it. Finally they got to the hotel after being lost for a few minutes

"Oh, a young couple?" asked a concierge

"Sort of…" said Koto and Lee as they looked at reach other

"Well I'm afraid there's only one room left."

"We'll take it." Said Lee after getting a quick nod from Koto to take it; he guessed that she wasn't in the mood to go hotel hunting

Lee and Koto walked into their hotel room; it wasn't really first class but it had the necessities two bathrooms, a TV, even a small kitchen. It was nice it had everything, everything except two separate beds. At least the bed was a king size.

"Great…" sighed Lee he didn't exactly feel comfortable with only one bed

But Koto didn't care she just walked up to the bed and just fell on it; happy that she could finally rest.

"Okay so what now?" said Koto muffled through the mattress

"Oh, I don't know…want to get some dinner?" asked Lee

"Sure, I saw a supermarket on the way here; we could go and pick up some ramen or ingredients for a nice dinner."

"Okay what are you in the mood for?" asked Lee while sitting on a comfy armchair

"Um, I guess I can make some ramen or if you like I know how to cook steak. Why don't you go and get some air." Replied Koto

"Yeah, I'll be back in a little bit." said Lee

"Okay, I'm going to get the food. See you in a bit."

Lee and Koto walked out of the hotel together and went in the opposite direction, Koto went north to the supermarket; Lee went south to a park. Lee's walk through the park was peaceful, but still he couldn't help but think about his friends. Lee stopped by a little bridge and looked at the water.

**There's no way they could miss me that much. I mean I could understand Gai sensei being a little depressed but, committing suicide? I wonder how Neji and TenTen are holding up. I miss them so much**; I **can't wait to get back tomorrow. Maybe if we left at dawn again we could be there at noon.**

While Lee was continuing with his walk, he couldn't help it; he felt tears swell up in his eyes.

"Damn it…" Lee whispered

Feeling depressed Lee decided to turn around and head back to the hotel, but not before he saw a something that caught his eye.

Koto was grilling the steaks when she heard Lee come in.

"Hey, Koto I'm back."

"Hey Lee, steaks are almost done."

Lee was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, he thought buying the trinket was a good idea at the time but the thought of giving it to her was starting to kill him.

"Um Lee, you okay?" asked Koto holding up two plates

"Uh, yeah." Said Lee who began to shake

"You sure you're okay? Maybe we should wait another day before continuing" replied Koto putting her hand on Lee's forehead

"Yes Koto…" said Lee as he gently batted her hand away

The two ate their dinner in silence until Lee spoke up.

"Hey Koto, I'm sorry for batting your hand away."

"No problem, but I got to ask why are you shaking?" asked Koto

"Um Koto, I found this in a shop on the way back from my walk and I thought it would look on you…" said Lee who once began to shake

Lee pulled out a small square box and pushed it towards her; Koto opened the box and couldn't help but smile. Inside the box was a golden locket, it was simple but it was beautiful. Koto looked at Lee and gave him a kiss.

For both Koto and Lee the kiss seemed to go on forever until, Koto and Lee pulled away gasping.

"I…guess we…forgot…to…breathe."

"…Yeah…"

The silence after the kiss was embarrassing, neither knew what to do.

"…Well I'm bored, what now?" asked Lee who was blushing a light red

"I don't know… want to make out?" asked Koto

"OKAY!" replied Lee

The two grabbed each other and soon fell to the floor kissing each other in the embrace.

Author's Note: No votes so I went with the make out scene. I couldn't help myself…


	11. Kumo attacks!

Author's Note: I have two reviewers! This chapter is dedicated to Hiddenlotuslee and antivenin for reviewing! You guys are the BEST, and you both get five cyber cookies!

If there was one thing that Ryuu hated it was being used; and he knew that taking on the mission to kill the heir to the throne was exactly that; Kumo just using him to have his way with the kingdom. But still a paycheck is a paycheck and it wasn't like he had a personal bid with the kingdom. The only people he really cared about were Kira, and Kaito; his teammates, friends, family. Kaito has been his best friend since as long as he could remember, and Kira wow, when she fought it was like watching her dance. Beautiful, mesmerizing, and deadly, although he would never admit to her face. As they hopped closer to the princess he wondered what would happen once they reached the kid and the princess. Would the boy be as easy to kill as he was too kidnapped? Hopefully yes, he didn't want to cause a scene with two brutal murders and have to kill any witnesses who had seen it happened.

"Hey Ryuu were almost there." Said Kira, snapping Ryuu out of his daze

"Hmm…" was the only thing Ryuu said back

"Always the stoic type, aren't you Ryuu?" laughed Kaito in his usual joking voice

The trio finally made it to the town and asked around about two kids traveling together, until Kira found the stand where Lee had purchased the necklace.

"He looked so shy buying this, I think he likes the girl he was traveling with." Said the old woman who ran the stand

"Did you see which direction he went off in?" asked Ryuu

"He went north, probably to the hotel near the entrance." Replied the old woman

"Thank you mam." Said Ryuu

The three found the hotel and the room where Lee and Koto had checked into, now they had to kill both of them without raising suspicion and leave before anybody found the bodies or find a way to dispose of the bodies. Trying to find a way to dispose of bodies always bugged Ryuu; it was so messy not to leave a trace of the murder on them.

"So Ryuu, what do we do now? Wait for them to leave and then kill them or do you want to sneak in to the room and kill them?" asked Kaito

"We'll wait for them to leave and then kill them; if this kid really does want to get home they'll probably leave early morning." Said Ryuu

"Good I haven't done a Snatch and Slice in a while." Said Kaito

Ryuu sighed mentally, ever since he met Kaito he had this annoying habit to name what they were going to do; in this case the term Snatch and Slice refers to when they wait in hiding and either use genjutsu to trap an enemy or ambush them then kill them by slicing their throats with kunai knives.

Soon morning came and Ryuu getting on a tree branch saw Koto and Lee leave the hotel hand in hand.

"Aww, how cute!" said Kira while almost knocking Ryuu out of his hiding place

"Kira! What the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready to trap them?" asked Ryuu

"Hey Ryuu use your eyes, I'm already in costume." Said Kira who was dressed in a beggar outfit curtsey of her ninjutsu

"The old damsel in distress" disguise suits you, Kira-kun" said Ryuu trying to refocus his binoculars

"Oh well then, go get into your position before the kids get there!" yelled Ryuu a little too loud

Meanwhile with Lee and Koto walking

"Hey Koto did you hear something? Asked Lee

"I dunno maybe it was a bird or something?"

"Yeah you're probably right. So anyway I figure that if we keep up this pace we can be in the village by noon!" exclaimed Lee happily

"Okay so what's your family like Lee?" asked Koto

"M-my family?" said Lee

"Yeah, you've met my family, so what's yours like?"

"Uh, well my family is sorta dead..." said Lee quietly

"Oh, Lee man I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay, truth be told I don't even remember my family. In fact Gai sensei is the closest thing to a father figure that I have although I'm pretty that doesn't count. But what about you, what's the rest of your family like?"

"Well my parents died a few weeks ago and I don't have any siblings, it just been my grandmother and me."

"Hey Koto, I've been wondering why did you want to come with me in the first place? I mean you're a Princess, it's probably a better life-style than a ninja's, you know?"

"Yeah I know, but do you remember when my grandmother was explaining about how when in a week's time she'll die and I'll take over the Kingdom?"

"Kinda, remember I was hanging upside down having my blood drained out of me." Said Lee giving a happy smile

"Ha-Ha-Ha very funny, but that's the reason; I don't want to become Empress I'm just not ready to take over the kingdom. Hell I don't know the first thing about running a country."

"Hey it could be worse." Said Lee trying to make it sound like it was alright

"How could it be any worse? The only family I have left is going to die soon and I'll have to run a damn country by myself?"

"Hey there could be somebody out to kill and your grandma." Said Lee

Lee and Koto walked or rather ran towards the Hidden Leaf Village when they came upon a young woman apparently injured.

"Miss are you alright?" said Lee giving out his hand to help her up, while Koto check for head injuries

The young woman picked herself up and caught both of Koto and Lee's eyes.

"Yes, I'm fine…" she said in a soothing, hypnotic voice

Her eyes were stunning, like two blood red rubies. Lee and Koto couldn't help but stare and before they knew it, they were trapped within Kira's genjutsu.

"Mission Accomplished." Said Kira as she undid her ninjutsu disguise

Kaito and Ryuu came out of their hiding spots, quick as lighting and drew their kunai knives as they slit Koto and Lee's throats.

POOF

The two people they were supposed to assassinate had just turned into logs.

"Damn it! Substitution jutsu, well at least the kids are smart." Said Kaito as kicked a log

"Everybody get down!" yelled Ryuu as he heard the sound of shooting stars whizzing throughout the air

Kira had gotten down fast enough but Kaito wasn't quite as fast.

"Kaito are you okay?" asked Kira while Ryuu scanned the trees like crazy trying to pinpoint where the shooting stars had come from

"I'm fine but I would really like some medical attention." Said Kaito clutching his neck; yeah it was a little cut but it had nicked an artery and was starting to bleed heavy

"Kira take Kaito away from here, I'm going to finish the mission." Said Ryuu with ice in his voice

"O-okay!" yelled Kira back, as she picked up Kaito

Ryuu closed his eyes and slowed his breathing just to the point where you thought he was holding his breath. To Ryuu the world seemed to slow down; he heard everything birds flying, people taking, and bingo the targets talking.

"Found you." Said Ryuu as ran towards Koto and Lee

Too bad that when he got there he found more shadow clones

"DAMN IT! Where the hell are they?" yelled Ryuu as his temper grew

Before he saw what happened Ryuu was kicked by a white flash and knocked into a tree

"I do not know who you are, but please leave my friend and I alone!" said Lee in his usual formal voice

"Listen kids it's not personal but a mission is a mission, you are a ninja yourself and as a ninja you know very well I can't turn down a mission that's been assigned to me by the Empress, herself."

"Can I at least ask why you are trying to kill Lee?" asked Koto

"Oh Princess it's not just your boyfriend here, your name's on the death list too."

"W-w-what? But why does my grandmother want me dead?" said Koto who began to stutter like Hinata

"Lord Kumo requested it."

"Kumo, why?" Koto fell to the ground; it was all too much to take in at once, the betrayal of Kumo someone who had always been there for her.

"Sorry for having to be the one to break the news to you Princess, but orders are orders." Said Ryuu as he ran towards Koto, who still couldn't move

Lee came at Ryuu with his usual speed, but Ryuu counter attacked Lee and sent him flying into a nearby lake.

Ryuu picked up Koto by her neck and stabbed her in her heart.

"Ahh!" Koto screamed; the pain was intense as Ryuu threw her down on the ground to finish the mission

"Sorry Princess but again, a mission is a mission."

Ryuu bent down to Koto to stab her again but was slammed into a few trees by a pissed of Lee.

"Koto are you okay?!" yelled Lee; hoping that her wound was shallow

"Yeah…I'm fine…just watch out for Ryuu!" yelled Koto as she used her medical jutsu skills to close up her wound; she looked at the stab wound and yes it hurt like hell but it wasn't deep.

_He didn't aim to kill? What the hell?_

By the time Lee was done making sure that Koto wasn't in any immediate danger he saw that Ryuu had disappeared.

Somewhere in a secret hiding spot with Ryuu

Ryuu hated this, his job was just to kill Koto and the boy but apparently that wasn't going to happen. Ryuu quickly studied Lee trying to see if maybe Lee had a trick knee or something like that.

"Damn it this kid has to have a weakness; maybe…" whispered Ryuu

Then he found it Lee's weakness but before he could attack again everyone heard a scream coming from the southern edge of the forest where Kaito and Kira. Ryuu quickly jumped out of his hiding spot and ran towards where the scream was heard.

"Lee! Ryuu's heading that way!" said Koto as she picked herself up

"Right!" said Lee as he grabbed Koto and threw her on his back and followed Ryuu to the other side of the forest.

Koto and Lee followed Ryuu until they saw that he on his knees cradling his fallen teammate.

"Kaito…what happened?" asked Ryuu trying his best not to cry

"Kumo...came…and attacked…us. He's…got…Kira…" Kaito passed out

Ryuu turned to Lee and Koto, his eyes full of rage.

"Hey kids listen, I'm sorry that I tried to kill you two, but it seems that we have a common enemy. Help me kill Lord Kumo and save my friends and I'll make sure that you two get home safely."

"Give me a minute to talk to Koto."

Author's Note: Wow this is a really long and crappy chapter, any please review!


	12. That's a big spider

Author's Note: Yay! People review for this half-assed story!

"Well Lee what do you want to do?" asked after giving up on fixing her top

"I'm not sure…On one hand Ryuu here is a hire assassin who kidnapped me and has probably causedGai sensei, the only person who is like family to me, to become suicidal and is depressed. Plus he almost killed you. But on the other hand I know I should help him…(sigh) what to do?"

"Okay Lee how about this if you help Ryuu, I'll give a present to make it worth your while?" said Koto seductively while she hugged Lee around his waist

Before Lee had a chance to respond to Koto sudden devilness he felt her legs wrap tightly around his waist while she trapped him in a powerful kiss; Ryuu could only stare at the sudden love attack on the boy and thought to himself _If these kids are the only thing standing in Lord Kumo's way then the kingdom has really gone to hell…_

After two minutes of serious lip locking Koto released Lee who looked dazed.

"Will you do it now?" asked Koto still smiling

"YES I WILL!" Yelled Lee full of youth

"Okay then come on!" yelled Ryuu as he grabbed both Lee and Koto and ran in the direction of Kumo

Five minutes passed before Ryuu, Lee, and Koto caught sight of Kumo with Kira. All three jumped into some trees so Kumo wouldn't see them.

"What should we do now? A direct attack is a bad idea and I don't think that Kumo will be easily distracted by shadow clone attacks." Said Koto silently

"Wait why is a direct attack bad?" said Lee

"Kumo has an ultimate offense and defense rolled into one."

"So what's this ultimate offense and defense?" asked Ryuu

"When I was little my father used to tell me old war stories about how Kumo used to be able to drain a ninja's chakra within 5 miles and rumor has it that he is able to summon a giant spider that can-"

Koto's sentence was cut off as she fainted

"Koto!" yelled Lee as he quickly caught her before she fell

Ryuu felt himself becoming weak as he blacked out.

"Ryuu!" Lee watched as Ryuu fell and watched in horror as he saw that Ryuu was caught by a hairy spider leg.

Lee's face became drained of all its color and his legs started to buckle as he saw Kumo riding on top of a spider as big as Pervy Sage's Toad.

"As Princess Koto was saying I have the power to summon a giant spider that feeds off of chakra, now do me a favor and die." Said Kumo calmly as his spider grabbed Lee and Koto

"Ahh!" screamed Lee as he felt his body being crushed

Kumo jumped off the head of his spider and walked on the leg that was crushing Lee. Never before had Kumo felt so good, everything was going according to plan. In just a few more hours he would give the sad news that the Empress had suddenly died and that a rouge ninja (a.k.a. Lee) had killed Princess Koto. Oh he loved when a plan came together so flawlessly, but should he kill Lee and Koto now or go back and just kill them and the Empress at the same time? (Sigh) So many forms of torture so little time.

Author's note sorry for not updating earlier but I have been sick all week, (I feel like crap!)


	13. Stabbed through the heart

Author's Note: Sorry that I haven't updated in a while! Please review

Koto gasped in pain, she looked next to her and saw that Lee was being squeezed to death. She tried to worm her way out of the spider's vice grip but it was like trying to bend steel; impossible. Koto began to panic it wasn't that she was afraid of death, no she was afraid that people she knew; people she cared for would die because of her. Koto knew it was silly but she couldn't help it she liked Lee and Lee was dying because of her.

"Kumo please, let Lee go and I surrender the throne to you! Just please let Lee go…" said Koto who began to cry

"Sorry Koto but I can't take the chance that your boyfriend here might come running to your rescue. Supaidaman attack!" yelled Kumo

"LEE!" Koto screamed

The attack seemed to be in slow motion, until the sounds of explosions reached everyone's ear. Supaidaman sway to the right and began to fall with Koto, Lee, Ryuu, and Kumo in hand. The sudden explosion had come from Supaidaman's legs more importantly his joints. The explosion was deafening and the fifty foot down didn't help either. Koto and Ryuu were thrown into a river, while Lee and Kumo were thrown into a clearing. Koto felt herself being tossed into the river like a ragdoll, and felt the unbearable feeling of drowning until she blacked out.

"…Koto…wake up…koto" somebody was calling her name

"KOTO WAKE UP ALREADY!" that got her attention

"What's going on?" yelled Koto as she quickly sprang up from her water induced sleep

Ryuu was standing beside her soaking wet and looking quite annoyed.

"Are you okay?" asked Ryuu with little or no expression on his face

"Why the hell did you scream in my ear?"Asked Koto while she shook the remaining water out of her hair

"I wanted to see if you were alive or not."

"Oh thanks, I guess, where's Lee?"

"I dunno, the explosion knocked Kumo, Lee and my Kira in a different direction. I wanted to go after them but I didn't feel safe leaving you alone."

"Oh that's so sweet of you to grow a conscience right after you totally screwed up my life and tried to kill Lee and me."

"Hey I might be a mercenary for hire but I care about my teammates and the lives of who's on my hit list.

"Aww, a mercenary with a heart of gold like that's not a sterotype."

"Whatever, listen I'm going to go look for my Kira and make sure Kaito is all right, do you feel strong enough to go look for Lee?"

"Yes…" said Koto not feeling comfortable that Ryuu was talking to her like a child

"Good, we'll all meet back here and head to the Leaf Village in the morning, understood?"

"But Lee really wants to go home as soon as possible, can't we just keep on going through the night? I mean we could be there at dawn."

"Yes, and if Kumo has hired any other mercenaries besides my team then they will be expecting us to be to rush to the Leaf Village the minute we're all together."

"So instead of doing that we're going to sleep in a forest where we're just as vulnerable?"

"Yes, that'll teach them to underestimate stupid people." Said Ryuu with a smile

"Heh, okay I'll meet you back here with Lee in two hours."

"Okay, see you in two hours Koto, be safe!" said Ryuu as he walked back to where Kaito had been found

"Bye Ryuu! Be careful!"

As Ryuu walked away, a thought made its way into Koto's mind _Ryuu's not so bad after all_. Koto picked herself up and decided to walk towards a clearing she had seen while falling down.

Meanwhile

Kumo jolted awake, his memories were rushing; trying to remember what happened when he heard a groan coming from a bush. Kumo armed himself with a kunai he still had and walked carefully over to the bush when he saw that it was Koto's boyfriend, Lee, knocked out.

_(Thank you God_) thought Kumo. His plans weren't totally gone he could still kill Lee and then kill Koto. He wasn't worried about Ryuu, he was sure that he was dead.

Kumo raised his knife and stabbed it into Lee's chest causing him to scream and writhe in pain. Unfortunately for Lee, he had already lost a lot of blood and hadn't recovered from his wounds from earlier. The last thing Lee remembered before blacking out was "Koto's next…"

Meanwhile with Koto

Koto heard Lee scream, and immediately rushed to the area where she heard it without a second thought.

The minute Koto had arrived where she heard Lee scream, she regretted it. Lee was on the ground in a pool of his own blood and Kumo was standing over him with a bloody kunai knife.

"LEE!" Koto screamed and charged head on to Kumo

Kumo didn't see Koto until her fist connected with his face. Kumo went flying backwards and Koto kept punching, kicking, and doing whatever she could do to inflict physical pain onto Kumo. Once Koto had thoroughly kicked Kumo's ass, she rushed over to Lee.

"Lee...are you okay?"

"…"

"Lee?"

"…"

Lee remained silent and Koto's raged grew to the point where she broke off a tree branch and started to beat Kumo with it until he was dead. Koto kept beating Kumo's corpse until something grabbed the end of the tree branch.

"Koto…stop." It was Lee, grasping his chest, trying to stop the blood flow.

"Lee!"

"Koto…stop…he's dead!"

"Lee are you alright?" Koto knew that was a stupid question, she could obviously see that he was in pain

"Yes…I'm…fine, excuse me…while I pass out." And Lee passed out

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, please forgive me.


	14. Off to the Village!

Author's Note: Thank you, hiddenlotuselee for sticking with this story for so long! You get 10 cyber cookies!

Koto was freaked for the following reasons; one. Lee was bleeding out with no sign of stopping, two. She wasn't sure she could stop Lee's bleeding, three. She was pretty sure she had just killed someone out of rage. So she did the only thing she could think of; scream for Ryuu's help and try not to cry.

"RYUU!"

And wouldn't you know, Ryuu came within five minutes of her scream.

"Koto what's-" Ryuu sentence was cut short as he saw exactly why Koto was screaming; Lee was bleeding on the grass and Kumo was dead.

"Koto calm down; listen I need you to be strong right now okay?" Ryuu got a quick nod from Koto..

"Okay good now take deep breaths while I make sure Lee and Kumo are alive."

Ryuu walked over to Lee and bent down. "Lee you alive?"

Lee groaned in response, "Okay good enough for me." Ryuu glanced at Kumo _yep he's definitely dead, Koto must have been pissed. _Ryuu dug a shallow grave for the now dead head advisor. He dumped the body in quickly as Koto saw the bloody body again. He looked over to where Lee was; Lee seemed to be okay, and frankly Ryuu was amazed the Lee had survived from the blood loss for so long. _The kid must go through some extreme training. _Ryuu sighed as the sun set, Koto was still freaked out and Lee was unconscious it was going to be a long night.

In a clearing somewhere in the forest after ten.

Koto was still shaking; she couldn't believe that she had killed Kumo. Someone who had always gave her advice on life or cheering her up when she needed it the most- she had killed him. Koto began to feel tears swell up in her eyes at the thought; thankfully Ryuu came out of a tent he set up for Lee.

"Feeling better?"

"Uh yeah, is Lee all right?"

"He's resting at the moment, and good news I found Kira, and Kaito!" he said while giving her some tea

"Oh that's great Ryuu!"

"You're feigned happiness is overwhelming, kiddo."

"I'm not faking, I'm just…tired."

"You get attack by a giant spider, fell a good fifty feet and lived, your boyfriend gets stabbed in his heart but lives, and you kill someone out of rage and love. Congratulations you have what it takes to be a ninja." Said Ryuu with a smile

"Not funny Ryuu… I just…I just feel so messed up right now. I mean three months ago if you would have told me that I was going to kill Kumo and fall in love with a really great guy, and then I would have had the palace guards throw you into the looney bin. But now it's like the life that I had before Lee, it seems like a lifetime ago."

"Yep…love makes people do stupid things, like why I teamed up with you and Lee. Kumo hurt Kira and Kaito and I wanted to brutally kill him."

"Hmp…thanks for helping us earlier, and no offense about this but when we all teamed up I was sure that the minute we had our guard down you would kill us…" said Koto meekly

"Nope you killed Kumo, so our mission is moot. We now have no reason to want you or Lee dead, and seeing that you will soon be an Empress it would probably be a good idea not to kill your future husband."

Koto merely bushed at Ryuu's remark.

"I'm going to bed." Was all Koto could say

The next morning

Koto woke from her sleep with a jolt; she heard fighting shouts. She peeked outside of the tent the Ryuu set up for her, Lee was up and fighting Ryuu and Kaito while Kira was making breakfast.

"Hey guys."

"Hi Koto!" said Lee as he blocked a punch from Kaito.

"Hi Lee, are you all better now?

"Yes Koto kun, but how are you?"

"I'm fine." Koto shot Ryuu a dirty look

"That is wonderful Koto kun!" said Lee as he embraced her

That little show of love earned a round of "Aww"'s from Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito.

Koto blushed as Lee let go of her "So Lee are you ready to go?"

"Yes I am Koto."

"Good when do you want to go?"

"How about we leave right now? It will only take us four hours if we go now."

"But what about Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito?"

"Well Koto, since our mission is done, we have to go back to the village and give our report in to the Empress." Said Ryuu butting into the conversation

Koto gasped, she had completely forgotten about her grandmother. She had been gone for what? Three, four days? Was her grandmother even still alive?

"I can see you forgot about your grandmother." Said Lee

"Oh my god, I can't believe I forgot about her!" said Koto as she became distressed

"Hey don't worry your Highness we serve the royal family or the highest bidder, we'll let your grandmother know your safe and happy, okay?" said Kira

"Well since you guys have got it handled, I guess we can leave this morning."

"Great! Bye Ryuu, Bye Kira, Bye Kaito! It was a nice meeting you! Thanks for not killing us when you had the chance!" said Lee as he grabbed Koto and ran directly towards the hidden leaf village.

Author's Note: Yay! I updated!


	15. Hidden Leaf Village Gates

Author's Note: YAY Chapter 15! I didn't think I would get this far, thank you again hiddenlotuselee!

Koto learned something while traveling with Lee. One, never complain that your feet hurt. Two, After Lee offers to carry you piggyback style and you agree, never say that we're going to slow. Three, never let go of Lee's shoulders when he has taken off his leg weights.

"LEE…STOP…TOO…FAST!" screamed Koto as Lee reached speeds to where she couldn't even see the scenery any more.

"What?" said Lee as he stopped suddenly making Koto flying into some trees.

"Oops, sorry Koto, guess I don't know my own speed." Said Lee as he pulled Koto out of the tree

Lee pulled on Koto's arm, and Koto fell on Lee in a very sexual position.

"So…um…how are you doing?" said Koto trying desperately to avoid the fact that she was on top of Lee

Somehow Lee was able to maneuver out from under Koto. He stood up and brushed himself off.

"So…uh Koto…how far have we gotten?" asked Lee his face blushing

Koto picked herself up and looked at a map she had brought along "Um…okay we were only twenty miles away but thank to you running like a manic, we've only got an hour's worth of walking."

"Seriously?! Then let's go!" said Lee ecstatically

"Hold your horses bushy brows! Before you drag me another mile, I gotta ask you something that's been bugging me." Said Koto

"What?"

"Well when Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito were ordered to come after you they made sure that everyone would think that you were dead, so when we do get to the village it's not like you can waltz into the mission room and say "Oh hi Gai sensei, you'll never believe what happened to me in the past two and a half months."

"Hmm, good point. I didn't think about that." Said Lee

"So what are we gonna do?" asked Koto

Lee sighed and looked at the clouds. What was he going to do? Ryuu, Kaito, and Kira were probably half way back to the Koto's Kingdom by now and Lee didn't want to get them as proof that he was the real deal. Plus they were so close to the village and Lee did not want to have to back track.

"Hey Lee…"

"What Koto?"

"I have an idea."

"Really?!" asked Lee

"Yeah and you didn't have to sound so surprised. Anyway Lee who are you traveling with?" asked Koto

"A really beautiful girl?" replied Lee

"That's sweet but no. You are traveling with the soon to be Empress of the Land of Clouds. We'll walk into the village, identify ourselves, earn an audience with the Hokage, and sort all of this out, before you know it." said Koto with pride

"Well that's great Koto but you have forgotten something."

"What?"

"Well you're able to go into the village as Princess Koto, but what about me?"

"Easy you can either be my appointed bodyguard or my soon to be husband."

"KOTO!" said Lee as his face began to blush

"Don't worry about it Lee we'll figure it out when we get there now let's go!" said Koto as she began to run in the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village

"Hey wait up!" yelled Lee as he chased after her

At the Empress's Palace Gates

"Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito approach!" yelled one guard

"Let them in!" yelled another

The trio made their way inside the Palace and into the main throne room where Empress Michiko was signing some new bill.

"Ah, Ryuu, Kira, and Kaito. It's wonderful to see you again."

"The pleasure's all mine your highness." Said Ryuu bowing

"I take it that the mission was successful?" The Empress asked

"Yes your highness, Kumo is dead and Princess Koto is safe just like you commanded." Said Kira

"Good, where is my granddaughter? We have to prepare for her crowning ceremony."

"Well your majesty, there seems to be a slight problem with that." Said Kaito

"What? Did that prisoner Lee hurt her?" said the Empress her eyes flaming

"Oh no your highness, it much worse." Said Kaito

"Well What the hell is it then?"

"It seems that your granddaughter had fallen deeply in love with the boy." Said Ryuu calmly

"Hmp, well is that it? You know what to do, kill the child and burn the corpse."

"Sorry your majesty, but Koto really does love him and it would probably kill her if we had to kill him." Said Ryuu

"Fine he can live, but I swear by my clan if he hurts Koto, he will die in a heartbeat."

"Yes your highness." Said the three in unison

Meanwhile at the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village

Lee stared at the gates; for the longest time when he was hanging from the dungeon he thought he would never see them for the hidden Leaf Village again. He looked at Koto she looked amazing in her black pants and shirt, to think if he had never been kidnapped in the first place he would have never met her. Koto walked up to Lee and straighten out his white shirt, but not before she brushed back his hair and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead.

Holding hands Lee and Koto walked into the Hidden Leaf Village.

Author's Note: OMG! The story is almost over! I can't believe how long it took, just a few more chapters and I'm done. And by the way, I have a new reviewer!


	16. FIGHT!

Author's Note: I'm really happy because I started a new story! Thank you all for reviewing and sticking with this story from the beginning.

Koto couldn't help but smile happily when she saw all the houses and stores; she kept staring when she felt Lee's hand on her shoulder.

"Stop gawking you look like a tourist not a princess." He said lovingly

"Sorry Lee but I can't help it, I've never been in a city this big before!" said Koto as she did a small twirl

"…So Lee-kun, do you think we'll see anybody you know?"

"Hopefully we won't." replied Lee

"Why not? I mean if you saw your sensei or your friends wouldn't you want to say "Hi guys, turns out I haven't been dead for two and a half months, but enough about me. How was your day?" said Koto while acting stupid

"It's not like that, look let's say a friend of yours died and a week later they were up walking and talking. Would you actually believe that, that person walking around was your friend?" asked Lee

"True…"

"Plus if word got out that a "reanimated corpse" was walking around the Anbu Black Ops would come after us and I'm really not in the mood to fight today." Said Lee

"Yeah, who knew having assassins coming after you to kill you, would make one tired." Said Koto

As Koto and Lee talked they became engrossed in their conversation that they didn't noticed that they were on the training grounds.

"Lee what's wrong?"

"This is where Gai sensei trained me when I was a kid…"

"Guess he really is like a dad to you."

"Yeah…well come on. We should get to Lady Hokage's office before she goes off to drink again."

"Okay."

Lee and Koto were about to turn away when Lee heard the familiar sounds of kunai knives being thrown.

"GET DOWN!" yelled Lee as he and Koto hit the ground

The kunai knives hit a tree perfectly on a target. Koto and Lee grabbed the kunai and armed themselves as someone was coming towards them. A body went flying towards them and Koto caught it. Koto looked down at the body she caught and saw that it was a young boy about Lee's age and that his eyes were white; almost milky. Lee was still on the defensive in case anymore bodies came out flying at them when Koto yelled out.

"Hey Lee do you know this guy?"

Lee turned for a millisecond and instantly recognized that it was his teammate, his best friend, Neji Hyuga.

"NEJI!"

"I'm going to take it that you know this dude?" asked Koto

"Yeah he's on my team…what's wrong with him?" asked Lee as he saw Neji was badly beaten up and hardly breathing.

"Well he's has suffered severe bruising to his chest and it seems that his chakra network has been dealt some damage too." Said Koto

Lee gave her a weird look.

"My parents wanted me to be able to protect me so I took up an apprenticeship with our best medical ninja."

"Wow…but what can you do for Neji?" said Lee as he looked down at his friend

Before Koto could respond four more bodies were thrown at them, and hit both Koto and Lee.

"What fresh hell is this?" asked Koto as she pushed someone off of her

Lee looked at the bodies that were thrown, and immediately his blood went cold.

"Koto stop!" said Lee

"What?!" asked Koto as she froze

"These are my friends!"

"What?!"

Lee stood up and helped Koto up.

"Yeah, these are my friends! This is Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, TenTen, and Sakura! Help me pick them up."

Koto flipped over Lee's friends and laid them out next to each other.

"What's wrong with them?" asked Lee

"Give me five minutes…"

Five minutes later

"Okay Lee it seems that they have been knocked unconscious and aren't responsive to anything, but they are breathing on their own so I think that they might just have a minor concussion. In my opinion I think that we should take them to a doctor."

"Okay I know a great doctor."

Just as Lee and Koto were calming down, they heard fighting and karate shouts.

"Great what now?" asked Koto

Lee and Koto looked to the east where Naruto and everyone had come flying from and saw that Kakashi along with another sensei were fighting about thirty marauders.

"Koto that's Kakashi sensei!" said Lee

"Wow he's pretty good!" said Koto as she saw Kakashi sensei throw a marauder clear across the training grounds

"Hey Lee if Kakashi is Naruto's sensei, then where's your sensei?"

"No idea…"

Gai and Kakashi looked like they were going to win the fight when one of the marauders pulled out a kunai and stabbed Kakashi in the chest. Kakashi went down and began to bleed, leaving the other sensei to defend himself while protecting Kakashi.

"Koto I'm going to out there to help, can you grab Kakashi?" asked Lee

"Yeah but Lee, please be careful…" said Koto as she gave him a quick kiss before both of them ran out into the clearing

Koto dodged seven marauders and grabbed Kakashi while Lee broke through the other marauders and began to kickass.

"Who are you?" asked the sensei as he took a fighting stance

"My name is Rock Lee, the second handsome beast!" yelled Lee happily

The sensei stopped fighting, and to him it was like time had just stopped.

"LEE?!" Yelled the sensei

Lee turned around and saw that the sensei he was fighting, and saw that it none other than Gai sensei.

"GAI SENSEI?!" yelled Lee

For the first time in two and a half months Gai actually smiled.


	17. REUNITE!

Author's Note: Thank you for reviewing!

Gai looked in disbelief as his student, his favorite student, was standing there in the flesh kicking bad guy butt with him. For a minute Gai thought that this was a dream until he felt his student wrap his arms around his waist.

"I MISSED YOU!" shouted Lee happily

"Lee? Is that you?" asked Gai

"Yeah it's me! But what did you do to yourself?" asked Lee who looked at Gai weirdly because of Gai's drastic clothing change

"Well... (Sigh) it's really complicated and-"Gai sentence was cut off as Koto yelled

"HEY GUYS! YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY MARAUDERS! FIGHT THEM THEN HAVE A TOUCHING REUNION!" screamed Koto from the bushes

"Oh yeah…" said Gai and Lee in unison

Lee and Gai began to fight and their moves were perfectly synced.

Meanwhile with Koto

"Wow, I knew Lee could fight but this is amazing!" said Koto as she watched Lee kick butt

Naruto woke up; and was a little freaked out that a girl was wildly cheering.

"Excuse me dude, but who are you?" asked Naruto

"Oh me? I'm Koto Namegawa and I take it you're Naruto Uzumaki." Said Koto cheerfully

"Yeah…" Naruto tried to get up but he felt a sharp pain in his stomach

"Aahhh!"

"Hey you shouldn't move around, you have suffered major injuries!" said Koto cautiously

"But…Gai sensei...needs…help!" Said Naruto as he began to feel the pain increase

"Don't worry man, Lee is helping out!" said Koto with a smile

"Bushy…Brows…" said Naruto as he passed out

Koto turned her head to see Naruto fall and pass out.

"Oh shit…" said Koto as she heard Naruto hit the ground

Lee and Gai finished beating up the marauders, and smiled wildly at each other.

"How are you here?" asked Gai bewildered that his student was alive

"Well that's a long story, see my friend Koto-" Lee stopped talking as he remembered Koto

"Uh Lee, you okay?" asked Gai

"Crap, I forgot about Koto!" said Lee

And as if Koto was listening (and odds are she was) Koto jumped out and perfectly nailed Lee in his head with a kick. Lee went flying into a tree, Gai just stood there freaked out by the young girl that had completely knocked his beloved student away.

"How the hell did you forget about me!" screamed Koto as she began to shake Lee

"Sorry!" said Lee in his defense

"Um…hello? Confused sensei here anyone want to explain what's going on here?" asked Gai

Koto stopped shaking Lee and dropped him to the ground.

"Oh hello I'm Koto, Lee's…" Koto looked to Lee to see how she was defined in their relationship

Lee didn't respond for he was still dazed, Koto gave him a little kick.

"She's my girlfriend…." Said Lee standing up shakily

"Really!" said Gai

"You don't have to act so surprised Gai sensei…" said Lee slyly

Gai was about to respond to Lee's remark when the sound of groaning stopped their conversation.

"Oh yeah, we might want to take your friends to the hospital." Said Koto

Author's Note: Sorry that this chapter is so short but I'm having computer problems again.


	18. He's my dad

Author's Note: I has been receiving help from my longtime reviewer hiddenlotuslee! Thanks a bunch for helping me!

Walking through the village with your supposedly dead student and his girlfriend while carrying your hurt rival along with his and your students is not something that a Hidden Leaf sensei gets to do often. And as Gai walked through the village with his student he kept on thinking on what he was going to ask Lee first. How was he still alive, where did he meet Koto, and who tried to kill him that night two months ago?

"Gai sensei?" asked Lee

"Hmm?"

"We're at the hospital." Said Lee

"Y-yeah sorry kids, my mind is a little preoccupied right now." replied Gai as they walked into the hospital

The minute the trio walked into the hospital every one stopped what they were doing and rushed over to the six people that Gai, Lee, and Koto were carrying. The nurses rushed over and began to look over them. A nurse, presumably a newbie, took Naruto and put him on a stretcher and pulled out a syringe.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing!" yelled Koto

The nurse was a little shock to be yelled at but she replied "I'm giving this young man amphetamine."

"What the hell is wrong with you! You don't give a person with a fucking concussion an amphetamine, you'll kill them!" screamed Koto

Author's Note: I have no idea if giving a person an amphetamine will actually kill them, I'm not a doctor.

"Little girl I have been doing this for ages, don't tell me what to do." Said the nurse as she was about to inject Naruto with the syringe

Koto lost it and she basically jumped the nurse and began to beat her up.

"Take that Bitch!" yelled Koto as she knocked the syringe away

"HELP! Crazy girl!" screamed the nurse

Gai and Lee would have helped but Koto and the nurse were fighting so fast they didn't know who was who to punch. Thankfully Lady Tsunade and Shizune walked in to see Koto beating the crap out of the nurse.

"What the hell is going on here!" yelled Tsunade

Everyone stopped what they were doing excluding Koto and the nurse who were still fighting. Koto gave the nurse a swift kick to her neck, making the nurse collapse to the ground. Koto stood up and brushed herself off.

"I'm sorry Lady Tsunade, but Miss Moron here almost injected Naruto who has a concussion with a freaking amphetamine!" said Koto as she gave the nurse another kick

The nurse stood up while coughing up blood "She attacked ME!"

Tsunade stood in silence and picked up the syringe "Did you try to give Naruto this?" asked Tsunade; her voice eerily calm

"Yes, it's for his cuts so they'll heal faster.

Author's Note: Again no idea

Tsunade walked over to the nurse and punched her in her check; the nurse went flying and went through three walls. Tsunade turned to Koto who expected to go flying through the walls, instead Tsunade grabbed Koto's shoulder lifting her up off the floor and hugged her.

"Thank you, that newbie almost killed him." Said Tsunade as she glanced to Naruto

Tsunade stopped hugging Koto when she realized that she was getting stared at by the hospital staff.

"Back to your stations!" she yelled

The rest of the nurses went back to treating the rest of the ninjas while Gai and Lee walked up to Lady Tsunade.

"Hello, Lady Hokage." Said Gai

"Oh…uh, hi Gai did you see that?" Tsunade asked

"Depends will I be punched like that nurse if I say yes?"

Tsunade gave a little nod.

"Then I saw nothing" said Gai looking in the opposite direction

Tsunade began to laugh a little as she saw that Gai had once again began opened up or at least loosen up. Tsunade felt a tug at her sleeve and saw Shizune.

"What is it Shizune?" asked Tsunade

"Gai who are these two children?" asked Shizune

Gai didn't know how to respond but thankfully Koto stepped in.

"Lee-kun here is my boyfriend and Gai sensei here is my father!" she said happily as she grabbed both of their hands

Tsunade and Shizune freaked out.

"You have a…daughter?" asked Tsunade

Gai gave Koto a confused look but thankfully on one noticed.

"How come you never told us?" asked Shizune

"Because…you never asked." Replied Gai

Author's Note: My Laptop deleted the original copy of this chapter which was actually around two thousand words.


	19. Names

Author's Note: Just updating…. This chapter will be mostly from Gai's view with slight hints of Gai/Tsunade, just because I think that I can get away with it and mostly because they have more in common then they think.

Tsunade and Shizune stood in their places move, and gawked at the fact that Gai. The man who was the most opened with his life had never told anybody about him having a daughter. Thankfully both of them realized that they were once again getting strange looks by the hospital staff and Gai, Koto, and Lee.

"So what are your names?" asked Shizune

"My name is Koto Maito, and it is a pleasure to meet you." Said Koto while giving a little curtsey

"And my name is Raiko Lee, but feel free to call me Lee." Said Lee with a smile and a bow

Lady Tsunade gave a solemn smile before saying "Excuse me kids, I need to talk to Gai here. Be back in a minute."

Tsunade pulled Gai away for the group and pulled him into an empty room.

"What is it Lady Hokage?"

"Gai what are you doing?"

"I don't know what you mean." Said Gai who was becoming confused

"Listen Gai, I know what you are going to do."

"You do?" replied Gai who was now completely lost

"Yes I do, you invited your daughter to comfort you but you're probably going to use her boyfriend as a replacement Lee."

"What? No…the kid already knows taijutsu and Koto seems really happy with him."

Tsunade just shook her head because she didn't believe him and replied "Gai just know that if you need to talk to someone, I'm here."

"That's great Lady Tsunade but I better go take the kids home it's getting late, let me know how Kakashi and my team are doing in the morning. Bye!" Said Gai as he rushed out of the room

Gai grabbed Lee and Koto by their hands and ran out the door.

Gai finally slowed down after he was sure Tsunade wasn't following them.

"Hey uh Gai sensei what that all about?" asked Lee

"Lady Hokage thinks that Raiko Lee is going to replace Rock Lee, she's really worried." Said Gai with a sigh

Lee and Koto broke into laughter but Gai replied "This isn't funny, now she thinks I have a daughter!"

Koto and Lee stopped laughing and Koto replied "Don't worry Gai, I mean Dad, I'm a foreign Princess who will soon come to power. She'll believe me."

Gai calmed down and sighed happily "You're right, we'll sort this out in the morning now come on, time to go home."

"That's right; I haven't been to my apartment since I was kidnapped! It'll be great to sleep in a real bed."

"Oh, um…Lee I'm afraid that your apartment was destroyed by the people who kidnapped you." Said Gai

"Oh damn it Ryuu!"

"Look on the bright side Lee at least he's efficient." Said Koto with a smile

"Who's Ryuu?" asked Gai

"Well technically it was Kaito who actually kidnapped me but Ryuu is the leader."

"Don't forget about Kira." Said Koto

"Oh yeah, she was really nice." Said Lee

Gai gave the two teenagers and incredulous look before saying "Lee you're talking nice about the people who tried to kill you."

"Again technically that was Koto's grandmother." Said Lee

"What?" yelled Gai

"Yeah, it was Koto's grandmother who ordered my kidnapping." Said Lee

Gai stood there amazed by his student; Gai bent down so that he was at eye level with Lee and touched his forehead. "Do you by any chance have succumbed to Stockholm Syndrome?"

"Not funny Gai sensei…." Replied Lee

Koto laughed to herself as she saw Gai and Lee talk, they really were like father and son. It made Koto a little jealous; her relationship with her parents was great but she was her father's little girl and their relationship was special. He had taught her all that she would need to know to rule the kingdom when he and her mother died. Koto had always thought that her time to be queen would never actually come; she thought her grandmother being the stubborn old woman that she was would probably run the kingdom and that she, Koto, would never have to worry about it. But when her parents died and her grandmother had been diagnosed with a blood disorder that ran in her family, she for the first time in her life she was truly alone. Koto was deep in thought until she felt someone touch her shoulder; it was Lee and he looked a little concerned.

"Koto…snap out of it." Said Lee

"S-sorry Lee…I was day dreaming."

"Oh well um…Uh since my apartment has been destroyed Gai sensei has offered us his home until we tell Tsunade who we are tomorrow."

"That's very nice of him, let's go."

In a few minutes Gai, Lee, and Koto had arrived at Gai's house. Koto was amazed at the house it was quite big and looked very comfortable.

"Nice house sir." Said Koto as she walked through the threshold

"Thanks Princess Koto." Replied Gai

Koto groaned in response to being called Princess.

"What's wrong with her?" asked Gai

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Koto despises being called Princess."

"Then what does she like to be called?"

"Um…Koto…and I think that's it." Replied Lee

"Alright Koto it is then, there are two guest bed rooms on the second floor and I'm downstairs if you need anything. We'll talk about what we are going to tell Lady Tsunade tomorrow okay? " Said Gai

Author's Note: Updating…Have fun.


	20. Chat

Author's Note: All praise goes to hiddenlotuslee for reviewing and I'm proud to announce that I will be making a sequel to this story! _Italics in this chapter are for dreams!_

The minute that Koto had walked into the guest room and sat on the bed was the minute that she had fell asleep. Koto's dreams were anything but peaceful though she had dreamt that Kumo had come back to live and that he had killed Lee and was about to kill her. In the dream Kumo had burst through the guest room door with tentacles coming from his back, he was drenched in blood and in his hands a lifeless Lee was hanging not moving a bit.

"_See Princess Koto! This is what happens when you cross me!" he screeched_

_Koto couldn't move herself; she was stricken with fear, fear for dyeing and fear for Lee the love of her young life dyeing. And now her fears and finally come true. Kumo walked closer to Koto and threw Lee's body at her, Lee's neck was broken and yet he looked like he had died a peaceful death. Kumo walked closer to Koto now and his tentacles were wrapped around her neck. Koto felt the life being choked out of her and cried for someone to help her. She saw Gai sensei out in the hallway and she screamed for him to get away, but he didn't he charged in and killed the Kumo zombie._

Koto was still screaming when she felt herself being shaken awake.

"Koto wake up!" said a voice

Koto eyes opened almost automatically and she saw a concerned looking Gai looking right at her. She looked at the clock and saw that it was two o' clock; she looked back at Gai and saw that he had a black eye and that blood was beginning to bleed from his head.

"What happened?" asked Koto

"You were screaming in your sleep, gave me a black eye, and kicked me which caused this." Explained Gai who began to rub his black eye and pointed to his head

"What? I could never do something like that!"

Gai gave her a disbelieving look before replying "You were screaming Kumo in your sleep, and I'm going to make a wild guess that he was about to kill you."

Koto now sitting up in the bed, grabbed her knees and pulled them together. She whispered to Gai "I'm sorry for hurting you."

Gai sighed and told Koto "Put on this robe and meet me in the kitchen, I'll make some hot chocolate."

In a few minutes Koto had made her way down to the kitchen, she would have made it down there sooner but had wanted to check up on Lee who surprisingly was still asleep. Koto walked down the staircase and gave a little wave to Gai who was drinking some hot chocolate and saw that he had an ice pack over his eye. Koto felt a twinge of guilt shoot through her heart.

"Hey…um again sorry for…you know punching and…kicking you."

"No problem, its something that I'm used to."

"Really?" asked Koto who sat down

"Yeah, I've been doing this since I was ten."

"Wow…why do you do it?" asked Koto

Gai paused for a minute and responded "When I had first started out as a Genin, there was this royal family that came to the village. I decided to skip the welcoming ceremony to go train instead and when I had gotten to the training field I saw this kid hitting the tree trunk that I usually hit. The kid realized he wasn't alone and he tried to fight me, needless to say I kicked his butt." Said Gai with a smile

Koto laughed and asked "What happened?"

"He yelled out "Uncle" and I stopped. He said his name was Tai."

Author's Note: I just got my computer back and I'm updating all of my stories.


	21. Tsunade and Coffee

Author's Note: I finally got around to making a Facebook account. Took me long enough and italics is for Koto's thoughts.

Koto's body shook as she asked "You knew my dad?"

This question took Gai by surprise and replied "You're Tai's daughter?"

"You knew my dad?" asked Koto whose heart began to race

"Yeah but you're Tai's daughter?" asked Gai

Koto was about to respond when the doorbell rang.

_Shit! Why did the damn doorbell go off? It's three a.m.! No one is awake at three a.m._

Gai looked Koto before saying "We'll continue this conversation later young lady"

"You're suppose to pretend to be my father not act like IT!" Yelled Koto as Gai walked out of the room

Koto merely heard a laugh in return to her outburst; Koto sighed, she began to think about her life from the past few months. Did she ever think that she would fall in love, go on an amazing adventure like this or soon become a queen? Hell no, Koto thought her life would remain the same; grow up, become queen, get married, have kids then eventually die. Koto began to laugh at herself when she heard a scream and then a loud thud. Koto rushed to the living room where she saw Lee and Gai standing over a passed out Tsunade, where Gai was trying to wake her up. Lee was dressed in green pajamas and his hair was back to normal.

"Lady Hokage….wakey wakey…." Said Gai

"Um…guys? What's going on?" asked Koto as she walked to them

"Uh well see…um well I heard talking so I decided to go downstairs and I saw you and Gai sensei talking. Everything looked okay when the door bell went off, I went to go answer it but Gai sensei beat me to it. Lady Tsunade was at the door, she saw me, turned white like she saw a ghost then she passed out."

Koto stared at Lee for a minute before sighing and rubbing her head in frustration.

"Well it's no flippin' wonder she passed out Lee! In case you haven't noticed everyone still thinks that you're dead!"

"Oh yeah…I forgot." Said Lee with a smile

Koto stared at Lee again before saying "Lee I swear to God if you weren't so cute, I'd beat the unholy crap out of you."

"Aww that's the sweetest thing you've ever told me." Said Lee sarcastically

"Kids!" yelled Gai to get their attention

"What?" asked Koto and Lee in unison

"Passed out Hokage on my floor! Not a good thing!"

"Oh yeah…um…just put on the couch and make sure that her head is elevated until she wakes up again." Said Koto

Gai and Lee nodded and moved Lady Tsunade to the couch.

"Okay so what now?" asked Gai

"Um…I dunno...wanna watch a movie until she wakes up?"

"Yeah sure." Said the dynamic duo

The trio picked out a movie, The Karate Kid and during the the movie Lady Tsunade woke up.

"Where am I?"

"Relax Lady Hokage you you're at my house. Coffee?" asked Gai as he handed her a mug

"Thanks…um Gai I know this is going to sound weird but I saw Lee."

"Okay." Said Gai

"No you don't get it! I really saw Lee, in the flesh!" said Tsunade who was worried that Gai wasn't taking this seriously

"Hey did somebody call me?" asked Lee who poked his head through the kitchen door

"AAHHH Ghost!" yelled Tsunade who promptly threw her coffee mug at Lee's head

Needless to say Tsunade's coffee mug powned Lee in his head.

"AHH….son of a….mother-fu…" Lee grabbed his head in pain and tried his best not to swear in front of the Hokage

"Do you see him?" screamed Tsunade

"Yeah he's been here since last night. Hey Koto could you take care of Lee here?" asked Gai who helped Lee to his feet

"Oh sure, what happened?"

"Lady Hokage threw her coffee mug at him." Said Gai

"Why did she do that?" asked Koto as she placed an icepack on Lee's bump

"Scared probably….how you feeling Lee?"

"Fine…"

Tsunade was shocked at the sight in front of her. Gai, his daughter Koto, and Lee were just talking about stuff.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked Tsunade

Koto gave her a weird look before saying "We're just patching Lee up."

"That can't be Lee! Lee is DEAD!"

Lee sighed and asked "Koto you tell the story, I'm going to go lie down."

"Okay Lee…um where do I start?"

"The beginning is usually a good place." Said Gai who sat down on the couch

"Thanks…Okay My name is Koto Namegawa. Princess of the lands of the Clouds, Successor to Empress Michiko, Please to meet you." Said Koto with a smile as she extended her hand for a shake

"Princess Namegawa?" Tsunade's voice became strained and panic like

As a child Tsunade had heard horrible tales about Empress Michiko torturing those who threatened, hurt, or kidnapped her family members and now that her only granddaughter, the sole heir to the throne, was here in the Hidden Leaf it could mean war for them.

"Does Empress Michiko know you're here?" asked Tsunade who did her best to keep the fear out of her voice

Koto looked at Lee before saying "Well probably…"

"Oh dear god…."

"Lady Tsunade what's wrong?" asked Lee

"Empress Michiko is going to kill us…." She mumbled

"She won't." said Koto

"How do you know for sure? You're her grandchild, a princess! The whole Land of Clouds must be screaming for your kidnapper's heads on a pike!"

"Okay hold it right there. One I was not kidnapped; I came here with Lee of my own volition. Two. Lee here was the one who was kidnapped."

"What?" asked Tsunade

"My grandmother who is dying kidnapped Lee, my boyfriend, to increase her life span."

"Why?" asked Tsunade

"Cause she thought that I wasn't really able to deal with the strain of my parents deaths and the fact that she was dying…" Koto trailed off and Tsunade understood

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating for a long time but I've kinda busy. XP


	22. Talking

Author's Note: Sorry for not updating but my parents decided to get a new modem and the freaking geniuses that were suppose to install it freaking cut the damn electricity line so I have been sitting in my room without television, internet, and most importantly freaking air conditioning! I'm in Texas in the summer without AC!

"So…um…how come you're here?" asked Lee to relieve some of the tension

Tsunade looked dazed for a moment but automatically came out of it.

"I wanted to tell you that everyone is awake and their all fine; and that you can go visit them in the morning." Said Tsunade

Koto looked at the kitchen clock, it was only around three and Tsunade did say that Lee's friends would be up by now so Koto said "You guys just wanna go now?"

"Go where?" asked Lee

"To the hospital, where else?"

"But visiting hours are over." Replied Lee

"Visiting hours, Smisiting hours. We got Lady Hokage with us, I don't think we'll need a hall pass." Said Koto

Lee thought for a moment trying to figure a flaw in Koto's plan when Koto added on "Besides you and Gai sensei are professional ninjas and somehow I think that breaking into the hospital is something that you guys can do easily, unless Lady Hokage wants to save us the trouble and come with us?"

Lady Tsunade sighed but nodded her head; Koto was right no point in breaking into a hospital when you could just walk in.

"Great! Um…can you guys just give me and Lee a second to get dressed?" said Koto as she realized that they were still in their sleep wear

"Sure yeah." Said Lady Tsunade

Koto and Lee left Gai and Tsunade alone and raced up the stair to change.

"So…pretty weird day…" said Gai

"Yep…" said Tsunade

The two ninja sat in silence for a minute, trying to figure out some way to start a conversation.

"So Lee's back….you must be really happy." Said Tsunade

"Yeah…it's great having him back." Replied Gai

Awkward Silence

The two ninjas sat in the awkward silence until Tsunade spoke up.

"Have you noticed that we have no problem talking to each other when we're working?"

Gai thought and nodded in response and asked "Why do you think that is?"

Tsunade lay down on the couch and replied "Maybe it's because we're at work?"

"Do you really think that's the reason?" said Gai as he moved to an armed chair adjacent to the couch

Tsunade looked at Gai before saying "You don't think that's the reason?"

"Well I think that when we're at work, we know what needs to be done. For example last week you handed my team a mission and all I needed to know what the mission was, who the client was, and the difficultly of the mission. There wasn't any casual "Hey how's your day going?" or "How are you?", but if you consider that when we're not really talking, we're just going through the motions."

"Yeah but we talk sometimes." Said Tsunade in rebuttal

"When was the last time you had a normal conversation with someone without them addressing you by your title or without having Shizune with you?"

"I talked to you when we thought Lee died." Said Tsunade

"That doesn't count." Said Gai

"How does that not count?" asked Tsunade

"You only talked to me to give your condolences."

"Yeah but we talked."

"Then what did we talk about?" asked Gai

"We…um…I can't remember." Said Tsunade with a slight smile

"Told you so." Said Gai who returned her slight smile

"Well what about the conversation we're having now? Does this one count?"

"Hmm I guess." Said Gai

"You guess?" asked Tsunade

"Well look at what it took for us to have this conversation in the first place. Lee had to be kidnapped, bring back a princess whose in love with him, and make it all the way back to the Hidden Leaf Village."

"I see your point, but at least we're talking."

"Yeah but it worries me on what it took to just to have a normal conversation with you. You really might want to think about acting friendlier to people and try to open up more." Said Gai

Tsunade was about to respond when she heard Koto speak "Aww look Lee, Gai sensei and Lady Hokage are playing therapist."

"Wow you're right." Said Lee with a smile

Gai and Tsunade looked at each other and they realized what the kids were talking about; Tsunade was on a couch and Gai was asking her questions.

"We're not playing therapist." Said Tsunade

"Whatever you say Lady Hokage, now can we please go?" asked Lee

"Of course we can, let's go Lee." Said Gai doing his good guy pose

"Yes Gai sensei!" replied Lee who mimicked the pose

The duo ran out the door along with Lady Tsunade and Koto in tow.

Author's Note: Hey just updating.


	23. Enter Chi Akahana

Author's Note: This will probably be the final chapter but don't worry if you guys like Koto and Lee then you'll be happy to know that I'm going to try and make a sequel to Blood Lines, and if you have any ideas for a title for the sequel then please let me know. Thank you guys, especially hiddenlotuslee, for sticking with me this long and giving me ideas along the way.

Four ninja stealthy jumped over the rooftops of Hidden Leaf Village. Two older ninja were leading the way as the other two younger ones, who were holding hands, followed close behind. They hopped on the rooftops in silence until Koto broke the silence.

"…So do you think your friends will like me?"

Lee gave one of his award winning smiles and replied "Of course, they'll like you! You're perfect in very way, besides I can't think of anyone disliking you."

Gai joined into the conversation "Lee's right Koto, don't worry about it. Kakashi and my teams are really friendly and I'm sure they'll like you."

"Really?" asked Koto

Tsunade now joined into the conversation "Yes and if one of them doesn't like you, say Naruto, let me know, I'll set them straight." Said Tsunade with a smile

"Thank you Lady Tsunade, so what are your teammates like Lee?" asked Koto whose mood seemed to lighten

"Well TenTen is nice if not a little bossy and Neji is….Neji."

"Come on Lee, what's Neji like?" asked Koto

"He's complicated; he probably didn't even miss me." Said Lee with a sad smile on his face

"Actually during your funeral I think I saw him crying but when I tried asking him about it but he blew me off."

"Wow Neji has a heart." Said Lee who was surprised as they finally reached the hospital; a small light was on the the eighth floor and the main lights were on in the lobby.

"So…how we gonna do this?" asked Koto

"Well I was thinking that we could simply walk in, 'cause we got Lady Tsunade." Said Lee

"Fine…" said Koto who sounded disappointed

"What's wrong?" asked Gai

"I thought we could have a little fun and go through the window." Said Koto who pointed to the open window

"What are we in Peter Pan?" murmured Lee

"Come on Lee, it could be fun besides doors are for people that have no imagination." Said Koto with a playful smile

Gai and Tsunade exchanged looks before Tsunade said "You two love birds go through the window, while Gai and I use the unimaginative door."

"Yay! I'll beat you up there Lee!" said Koto as she began to jump up

"I'd like to see you try!" replied Lee as he followed close behind her, leaving Gai and Tsunade at the front doors of the hospital

"I wonder if I was like that when I was a kid?" asked Gai

"You mean hyperactive, easily in love, smile blinding ninja? I'm sure you were." Said Tsunade with a slight smile

"Thank you for those kind words…well come on we better get going before the kids beat us there." Said Gai as he held the hospital's unimaginative door

It didn't take long for either teams to get to the room in fact Gai and Tsunade reached the room just a little bit before Lee and Koto. When they entered the room they saw that Naruto was eating ramen that he must have sneaked in through Choji, Sakura and TenTen were brushing each other's hair, Sasuke was drawing up battle plans with Neji, and finally Kakashi was doing pushups on his bed. They all stopped their activities of course when Lady Tsunade and Gai walked in.

"Hey Granny Tsunade, Bushier Brows sensei what brings you guys here?" asked Naruto

"I forgot to finish up some paper work and Gai wanted to check up on TenTen and Neji." Said Tsunade who figured that it would be better for Lee and Koto to explain Lee being here

But as always Kakashi noticed something was up, "Gai wanted to check up on Neji and TenTen at three thirty in the morning? What's going on?"

"Okay well truth be told I didn't come here to visit my team, but I did bring them a little surprise." Said Gai

"What surprise is it, Gai sensei?" asked TenTen

"I'm sure it'll be here any minute." Said Gai with a huge smile on his face

And as if on cue Lee jumped on the edge of the window yelling "Beat you Koto! I WIN!"

Lee's sudden appearance caused quiet uproar; in fact it caused Naruto to throw his ramen bowl at him, which unfortunately for Lee it found its target. The ramen bowl hit Lee right between his eyes knocking him over the window's edge, but thankfully for Lee Koto made it to the window and caught him before he went falling to the ground.

"Damn it! Why does that keep happening?" said Lee who rubbed his new bruise

"Hell if I know, but it's funny!" said Koto who was laughing

Lee and Koto ignored the astonished looks they were getting from everyone when Naruto broke the silence.

"N-no way…Lee? Y-you're a-alive?"

"No I'm dead and I don't have a wonderful girlfriend by my side." Said Lee sarcastically

"Granny Tsunade, there's a ghost in the room!" yelled Naruto

"Naruto that's no ghost, that's the real Lee in the flesh." Said Tsunade

"I don't believe it, we saw Lee's corpse he's dead." Stated Neji coldly

"I am too Lee." Said Lee

"Are not." Said Neji

"Are too." Replied Lee

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"ARE NOT!" yelled Neji

"ARE NOT!" yelled back Lee

"ARE TOO!" yelled Neji

"HAH! I just Bugs Bunnied you!" said Lee with a smile on his face

Neji sighed "Yep you're Lee; he's the only one who would use some stupid mind tactic like that."

"Aww Neji, that's the nicest thing you ever said to me." Said Lee with a smile on his face

"Oh I missed you guys arguing over stupid stuff." Said TenTen who gave both of her teammates a hug

Gai sensei smiled at the sight of Neji, TenTen, and Lee, it was great that Lee was back because it meant that Neji would act who he usually would and that TenTen would stop going off by herself to go train at Lee's old spot. It was like a hole had been filled in; Gai's thoughts were interrupted by a cough from Koto.

"Hey Lee don't you think that you should introduce a certain someone?" asked Gai who pointed towards Koto

"You're right! Man how did I forget….um guys I would like you all to meet Koto Namegawa, Princess of the Land of Clouds and my girlfriend." Said Lee who gave Koto a kiss on her cheek

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Said Koto

The room went silent for a minute before Naruto broke it.

"You're Lee's girlfriend?"

"Yes."

"And you like him?"

"I love him." Said Koto with a smile

"And Lee loves you?"

"I hope so." Replied Koto

"So what mental hospital did you escape from?" asked Neji who sat next to TenTen

"Neji!" whispered TenTen as she hit him upside his head

"Oww! What? It's a normal question to ask whenever your unique teammate gets a princess as a girlfriend." Said Neji who rubbed the back of his head

"Very cute Neji…um so Koto you're a princess what's that like?" asked TenTen who was trying to divert the conversation from Neji and Naruto's rudeness

"Um…my life isn't as great as some would think it is." Said Koto

"Really?" asked Sakura

Koto began to tell of her life as a princess and for the first time in a long time Koto felt at ease and at peace. She didn't worry about what they thought of her and they didn't judge her on what she wore, how she talked, and most importantly who she dated. It was wonderful and Koto prayed that it would never change. But sadly miles away in the Land of the Clouds, Empress Michiko laid on her bed coughing up blood. She had sent the royal doctors away for she no point in them trying to give her a few more measly seconds of life, no it was her time and her granddaughter was far away from her; this made the dying Empress sad but happy. She had always figured that she would die with her loving family surrounding her, but that was nothing but a dream now and somehow the fact that her only heir to the throne was away from her made her somewhat happy. Now Koto wouldn't have to witness another death; the Empress hacked up more blood and her breathing was becoming more labored. It wouldn't be long now, any minute death would take her and that would be it. Her bedroom door opened and a nursemaid hurriedly walked in, bowed, and placed a small tray filled with small tablets. The nursemaid herself couldn't be any older than Koto, she had light brown hair that covered most of her face and she was quiet skinny, she was probably underfed.

"M-my Empress please take your medicine." She said timidly

Empress Michiko gave one of her famous glares that sent shivers down the nursemaid's spine.

"There's…no... point." She gasped

"But Empress Michiko, your health!" cried the nursemaid

"Death is…at my…doorstep young lady…there's no…point…trying to deny the inventible." She said with a faint smile

"B-b-but the kingdom, what will happen to us?" asked the nursemaid who had tears forming in her eyes

Empress Michiko turned her head in the nursemaid's direction and saw the pain on her face; the poor child was scared, she had probably hadn't even see death before.

"What…is your…name…young child?" asked Empress Michiko

The nursemaid gasped, she thought that the Empress would be telling her on how life was unfair instead of asking her name.

"M-my name is Chi Akahana" said the nursemaid

The Empress smiled and said "Blood Redflower…that's a…lovely name….Although you…seem…a little timid for it…"

The nursemaid could only smile at this because it was true, she was timid and it had surprised her family when she had gotten a job at the palace.

"T-thank you Empress!"

"Chi…what…would say…if…I…gave you a…mission?" asked the Empress

"W-what?"

"I-I…want you…to…go and…find…my granddaughter…and bring…her back..to..." The Empress Michiko began to hack up even more blood and soon she was gasping for air

The nursemaid stood in horror as Empress Michiko gave a bone shaking cough and went limp, the nursemaid checked her pulse and began to cry. The Empress had finally died and now Chi Akahana would have to fulfill her dying declaration, she hoped that she was strong enough to do it.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this story and I hope you all will review. Goodbye…


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